This Saturday, as part of the 25th day of Ligue 1 2024-2025, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) take on Rennes (11th) at Roazhon Park (kick-off 5pm, UTC+1). The referee for the match has been chosen: Mathieu Vernice (31). He has a wealth of experience under his belt in Ligue 1, with 38 matches to his name. This will be his first with PSG.
Vernice will be assisted by Florian Goncalves and Julien Garrigues. Alexandre Perreau Niel will be the 4th referee. Video assistance will be provided by Eric Wattelier and Cyril Gringore.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Vernice at the whistle, we can expect yellow cards to come out very quickly during the match. Indeed, while the national average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation 0.39), Saturday’s referee has given an average of 4.03 yellows per match throughout his career in Ligue 1 (Transfermarkt figures). That’s very high, so let’s hope there aren’t any excesses. Even if it’s positive to protect players.
Direct red cards –
The man on the whistle on Saturday was also harsh on direct red cards. Indeed, Vernice is at 0.24 exclusions per match in his career, while the national average per encounter is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). Clearly, the players will have to be careful. But let’s not forget the dialogue.
Second yellow cards –
Mathieu Vernice also has a habit of sending a player off after his first yellow card in a match, as he issued a second caution to the same player an average of 0.11 times per match. This is even higher than the national average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.03). With so many yellows and reds, there’s a certain logic and severity to it.
Penaltys –
Finally, in terms of penalties, the man on the whistle on Saturday was even higher than average, with 0.42 penalties whistled per match, compared with the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation 0.08).
