Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais faced off this Sunday at Parc OL as part of Matchday 12 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season. The match ended in a 3-2 victory for PSG. After the game, Lyon’s assistant coach, Jorge Maciel, spoke at a press conference. Unsurprisingly, he heavily criticized the refereeing.
Maciel: “I’m issuing a challenge to everyone: let’s have a real discussion.”
“Our strategy worked well. We controlled the game, without dominating it. I think we were in control. We didn’t face many chances. But we conceded three goals and lost. That’s where the frustration lies: the mix of pride and arrogance in playing an interesting match against a strong team but losing it. Especially with so many players absent, due to injuries and suspensions.” This shows once again that we can compete against anyone.
For the next international break, I’m issuing a challenge to everyone: let’s have a real discussion (about refereeing). We can’t keep talking about the same mistakes, the same trends, the same things. It happened here today, yesterday (Saturday) in Monaco (the red card against Folarin Balogun), and this afternoon in Strasbourg. We need to know what rules we can play by. And at the start of a match, they need to be clear and applied to the other teams.
Maciel: “Mistakes have no consequences.”
“We need to talk about video assistant refereeing. French football has an incredible league, but to have a real product, you need three teams on the pitch, doing their job. There are no demands placed on the referees. Mistakes have no consequences,” remarks reported by L’Equipe.
The Lyon staff can be satisfied, overall, with the team’s performance. They found ways to trouble PSG, who weren’t very inspired, but that’s also to Lyon’s credit. OL has some strengths and displayed great teamwork.
Naturally, it’s frustrating to lose in the final moments from a corner. It’s regrettable that this leads to comments almost exclusively focused on complaining about the refereeing. This has been the case in the comments of all Lyon fans since yesterday. They have every right to be angry; there are indeed issues with the refereeing every weekend.
Perhaps there are errors, but above all, decisions that don’t always seem consistent from one match to the next. There’s always an element of interpretation that can lead to misunderstandings. It’s also important to note that there’s sometimes a lack of understanding of the rules among those involved, not just the referees. And there’s always a bit of bad faith when it comes to those directly affected.
There were some controversial incidents in this Lyon/PSG match, some that ultimately went against Lyon, but others that went in their favor, including two potential penalties. Oddly, these incidents weren’t mentioned by Lyon supporters, who were trying to portray their comments as reflecting the entire league. This doesn’t change the fact that a more peaceful atmosphere would be beneficial. Perhaps this would involve clearer refereeing; why not see referees providing explanations after matches?
