Swiss Ligue 1 side FC Sion will be coached by owner Christian Constantin this week after coach Fabio Celestini “was sent on leave,” according to Le Matin.

Christian Konstantin, patron-coach of FC Sion.

Sion won their last official match on November 9 (2-1 against VIL after extra time in the 1/8 finals of the Swiss Cup) and the results recorded since then (4 draws and 8 defeats) have been fatal for Celestina , the team reached 9th place, sharing points (22) with Winterthur, last in the ranking.

Konstantin, the president and patron of the group, was fed up after the sharp defeat suffered against the members of St. Gallen (4-0, home) and took a radical decision: he forced Celestini to “take a step back” and announced that he will sit on the technical bench during the games with Lugano this week: Wednesday in the Swiss Cup and Sunday in the league.

“FC Sion confirms that Fabio Celestini will be unavailable for the week. Meanwhile, Christian Constantin will take charge of the team and will be present on the bench for FC Sion in the next two matches against FC Lugano, the Swiss group said in a statement.

At the age of 66, Konstantin will coach “Sion” for the seventh time. His last appearance in the technical area was in the spring of 2021, when he replaced the Italian Fabio Grosso and recorded a win (3-1 against Lausanne) and a loss (1-2 against Servette).

In 2017, Konstantin was banned for 14 months after attacking former coach Rolf Fringer, a TV pundit.