Valere Germain assured fans he didn't bet on any Nice matches. PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty ImagesMonaco forward Valere Germain is among 19 players and coaches in France's top two divisions to be handed a suspension for breaking gambling rules.
Germain, who spent last season on loan at Nice, was given a two-match ban, of which he must serve one immediately, and fined â¬1,500.
Nice players Jeremy Pied and Albert Rafetraniaina and Bordeaux midfielder Thomas Toure and goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso were given suspended three-match bans -- Carrasso's for a single bet of one euro, sports daily L'Equipe said.
"Certain players thought small bets would be tolerated, but it's not the case," Christophe Bertrand, a lawyer representing several of the players involved, said in quotes reported by L'Equipe.
Reprise demain !!! pic.twitter.com/lv9dE6650L
- Valère Germain (@ValereGermain) 23 June 2016
pic.twitter.com/91slaISzy1
- Valère Germain (@ValereGermain) 23 June 2016
The LFP, which announced the suspensions late Thursday, did not say which games were bet on.
Midfielder Calvin Mangan, who plays for third-division club Chateauroux, was handed a five-match suspension, with three suspended.
Players are forbidden from gambling on matches in competitions in which they are also involved. Pied, whose Nice team finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for Europe, took to Twitter to apologise.
"I inadvertently bet 10 euros on a Ligue 1 match, a bet which I lost," he admitted. "Nice supporters can rest assured that I didn't bet on a Nice game. Regardless of the punishment I will accept it."