This Sunday, in the round of 32 of the Coupe de France 2024-2025, Paris Saint-Germain take on Lens at Stade Bollaert (kick-off 9pm, broadcast on beIN SPORTS in France). Thomas Léonard (43) has been chosen to referee the match. He has a wealth of experience in Ligue 1, with 125 matches to his name.
He will be assisted by Julien Aube and Cédric Favre. As for the role of 4th referee, it will be occupied by Samir Zolota.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Léonardo on the whistle, we can expect yellow cards to be handed out fairly quickly during the match. Indeed, while the national average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation 0.39), Sunday’s referee has given an average of 3.78 yellows per match in his entire Ligue 1 career (Transfermarkt figures). That’s high, let’s hope it’s without forgetting the dialogue.
Direct red cards –
The man on the whistle this Sunday is relatively less severe when it comes to direct exclusions, as he has a “normae” tendency when it comes to handing out direct red cards. In fact, Léonardo has handed out 0.17 exclusions per match in his career, whereas the national average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation 0.07). Let’s hope he doesn’t punish everyone.
Second yellow cards –
Thomas Léonardo has a habit of sending players off after their first yellow card in a match, as he has issued a second warning to the same player an average of 0.10 times per match. This is a little higher than the national average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.03). Players will have to be careful and follow the warnings.
Penalties –
Finally, when it comes to penalties, the man on the whistle on Sunday is lower than average, with 0.33 penalties whistled per match, compared with the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation 0.08).
