Between the many red cards and the intense tensions each weekend, our championship has rarely known so much discord with the men in black.
By Adrian Mathieu
© VALERY HACHE / AFP
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HASith already fifty red cards distributed in twelve days, the Ligue 1 season 2022-2023 is likely to break all records. By way of comparison, among our English neighbors, there have been only ten exclusions so far in the Premier League. Sanctions have multiplied since the resumption in early August, without a calm coming. Despite the introduction of video refereeing, the referees do not hesitate and no longer hesitate to draw in a championship where the intensity of the contacts has gone up a notch. Opposite, the players and their coaches blame them for their lack of communication and pedagogy. So who is to blame ?
Last weekend was no exception to the rule, several meetings were marked by game incidents. During Toulouse-Strasbourg (2-2), a penalty was refused at the end of the match to the Alsatians, causing the anger of their trainer, Julien Stéphan. “We should have had a penalty in the 90e minute that was denied to us. I do not know why. Due to a lack of courage, no doubt. This is not the first time that this has happened to us, we have never said anything but, there, enough is enough. »
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Same story with Antoine Kombouaré, whose team was the victim of a penalty generously granted by François Letexier in Nice. “We talked about refereeing, VAR, but on Sunday I mostly saw dishonest people. And I confirm. To err is human, I make mistakes every day in my work, it’s human. On the other hand, being able to lie to justify a decision, I cannot accept it”, declared, furious, the Nantes coach to The Team.
The head of French arbitration, Pascal Garribian, stepped up to defend his proteges and encourage coaches to exercise restraint. “We cannot accept that a coach questions the honesty and integrity of a referee in general, it is not possible. François Letexier, and in general all referees, are honest and honest. They can make mistakes, but their honesty should not be questioned. »
“In the end, we are all losers”
The boss of the technical direction of the arbitration wanted to put the recent winner of the Coupe de France before his responsibilities. “When we attack the person, it is also the amateur referees who suffer the consequences of behavior that has no place in professional football. The Nantes coach’s violent charge has so far not been punished, but others have not been so lucky. The president of Reims, Jean-Pierre Caillot, received a suspension until the end of the year for having won against the arbitration after a draw (1-1) at the end of August against Lyon. With a season with four direct relegations due to the transition to 18 clubs, tempers are undoubtedly heating up faster.
This exemplary sanction from the Reims manager dissuades many players in our championship from commenting on the facts of the game, even if they do not think less of it. Contacted by Point, an L1 player who wishes to remain anonymous returned to this burning subject: “We saw what the president of Reims took, we do not want to risk our career for a few unfortunate words. It’s a shame, because we want to understand certain decisions but many referees remain closed to dialogue. So we suffer, and in the end we are all losers. “However, the LFP has multiplied initiatives by trying to organize meetings between the various protagonists, coaches and referees, but some have been canceled for lack of participants…
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On the side of Strasbourg, we have integrated the former referee Franck Schneider into the technical staff to help the players to understand certain situations; to see over time if this type of initiative bears fruit. The question of the microphones on the men in black is also coming back to the fore, even if there is currently no real large-scale implementation. In the meantime, change could occur in the coming weeks: according to The Parisian, Pascal Garribian is threatened and a reflection would exist with the authorities of French football to land him. This question should be debated at the next executive committee of the FFF, on November 10 just before the World Cup, with why not the name of his replacement. It remains to be seen whether this new strong man will finally manage to appease the spirits in a Ligue 1 which really needs it.