This Sunday, in the 2026 Trophée des Champions, Paris Saint-Germain will face Lens at the Stade Bollaert (kick-off at 8:45 PM, CET). The match official has been selected: Jérémie Pignard (39). He brings extensive Ligue 1 experience to the match, having officiated 119 games in the league.
The referee will be assisted by Hicham Zakrani and Gwenaël Pasqualotti. Jérémy Stinat will serve as the fourth official, while Mathieu Vernice and Cyril Gringore will handle video assistance.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Pignard officiating, one might expect yellow cards to be handed out relatively freely during the match. While the national average per game is 3.53 (standard deviation of 0.39), Sunday’s referee has averaged 4.06 yellow cards per match over his Ligue 1 career (according to Transfermarkt figures). Hopefully, this approach serves to protect the players without sacrificing communication.
Straight red cards –
The referee for Sunday’s match is less severe when it comes to straight red cards. Pignard averages 0.19 sendings-off per match in his career, compared to a national average of 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). He is not one to hand out punishments indiscriminately, even though he shows no leniency in his decision-making.
Second yellow cards –
Jérémie Pignard is somewhat more inclined to send a player off following a first yellow card in Ligue 1 matches. While the national average stands at 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03), his average is 0.13. With a high number of yellow cards and red cards that are far from rare, the situation is clear: the players will need to be very careful.
Penalties –
Finally, regarding penalties, the referee officiating on Sunday has a rate that is well above average, awarding 0.41 penalties per match, compared to the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (with a standard deviation of 0.08).
