This Sunday, as part of Matchday 17 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season, Paris Saint-Germain (2nd) will face Paris FC (14th) at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 8:45 PM, CET). The referee for the match has been chosen: Benoît Bastien (42 years old). He has extensive experience in Ligue 1, having officiated 266 matches.
He will be assisted by Hicham Zakrani and Aurélien Berthomieu. The fourth official will be Karim Abed. Video assistance will be provided by Stéphanie Frappart and Bruno Coué.
Yellow Cards –
With Mr. Bastien as referee, we can expect yellow cards to be issued quite frequently during the match. Indeed, while the national average per match is 3.53 yellow cards (standard deviation of 0.39), the referee in this match has issued an average of 3.91 yellow cards per match throughout his Ligue 1 career (Transfermarkt figures). This is significantly higher than the average. Players should be protected, but dialogue should not be neglected.
Direct Red Cards –
The referee in this match is less strict when it comes to direct red cards. In fact, Bastien has an average of 0.18 red cards per match in his career, while the national average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). Therefore, there is no question of letting bad behavior go unpunished, nor of handing out punishments indiscriminately.
Second Yellow Cards –
Benoît Bastien doesn’t typically send off a player after their first yellow card in a Ligue 1 match. The national average is 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03), while his is 0.08. With many yellow cards and more “normal” red cards, there’s a feeling that he’s simply more inclined to issue the first yellow.
Penalties –
Finally, regarding penalties, the referee is below average with 0.33 penalties awarded per match, while the Ligue 1 average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
