This Sunday, as part of Matchday 5 of the 2026-2027 Ligue 1 season, Paris Saint-Germain (7th) will face Olympique de Marseille (13th) at the Stade Vélodrome (kick-off at 8:45 PM, CET). The match official has been selected: François Letexier (37). He brings significant Ligue 1 experience to the table, having officiated 191 matches to date.
The referee will be assisted by Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni. Marc Bollengier will serve as the fourth official, while Bastien Dechepy and Wilfried Bien will handle video assistant referee (VAR) duties.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Letexier officiating, yellow cards are likely 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 3.98 yellow cards per match over his Ligue 1 career (according to Transfermarkt figures). This suggests good player protection in what could be a tense match, though communication with the players will also play a role.
Straight red cards –
The referee for Sunday’s match is less severe when it comes to straight red cards. Letexier has averaged 0.16 sendings-off per match in his career, compared to a national average of 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). He is not, therefore, one to hand out punishments indiscriminately.
Second yellow cards –
François Letexier does not typically send a player off after their first yellow card in a Ligue 1 match. While the national average stands at 0.09 (with a standard deviation of 0.03), he also sits at 0.09. Given the high number of yellow cards but “normal” red card figures, one can hope that the cautions serve to calm the players down, rather than indicating that the referee struggles to issue a sending-off later on.
Penalties –
Finally, regarding penalties, the man with the whistle this Sunday is above average, awarding 0.38 penalties per match, compared to the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
