This Sunday, as part of Matchday 12 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season, Paris Saint-Germain faced Olympique Lyonnais at Parc OL. Matthieu Louis-Jean, Lyon’s sporting director, stopped in the mixed zone after PSG’s 3-2 victory. He expressed his anger at the refereeing.
Louis-Jean: “We are completely baffled.”
Disappointed?
Yes, extremely so. I’d like to start by congratulating the team. We saw a very good side of OL tonight, I’m very proud of the team’s performance. The coach had a great tactical game, the team caused PSG problems.
But there is disappointment, with some significant refereeing errors. We are completely baffled. There was a clear handball by Zabarnyi, a blatant foul on Tessmann for the second goal.
Louis-Jean: “What needs to be done for fair refereeing in Ligue 1?”
I don’t know what needs to be done. We’ve tried everything. We’ve talked, we’ve exchanged ideas, we’ve gone to see them, but it’s still happening. We don’t understand. There’s a real problem with consistency, and not just for us. It was the same with Monaco; it’s incomprehensible. We need to ask ourselves questions, sit down at a table, and talk. It’s not just us; all the teams feel there are problems. What needs to be done for fair refereeing in Ligue 1?
Is this distorting the league?
We’ve seen similar incidents in the past; I’ll go back to the Rennes match, we would have had extra points. Tonight, Mr. Bastien’s refereeing was a disaster. They never say anything, it’s never their fault. Their week will start without a hitch.
Louis-Jean: “We don’t have a huge squad and yet we’re getting red cards.”
Are you particularly upset?
It’s starting to add up, what can we do? We went to see them, they explained things, and this is getting ridiculous. We’re fighting with what we have, it’s not easy. We don’t have a huge squad and yet we’re getting red cards. In Strasbourg, it only takes 5 minutes to send off a player. I don’t understand why VAR didn’t call the referee over the foul on Tessmann. It’s incomprehensible.
