This Saturday, as part of Matchday 13 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) will face Le Havre (12th) at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 9:05 PM, CET). The referee for the match has been chosen: Mathieu Vernice (32 years old). He has considerable experience in Ligue 1, having officiated 46 matches.
The referee will be assisted by Florian Goncalves and Steven Torregrossa. Rémi Landry will serve as the fourth official. Video assistance will be provided by Eric Wattelier and Christian Guillard.
Yellow Cards –
With Mr. Vernice as referee, we can expect yellow cards to be shown quite frequently during the match. Indeed, while the national average per match is 3.53 yellow cards (standard deviation of 0.39), Saturday’s referee has averaged 4.11 yellow cards per match throughout his Ligue 1 career (Transfermarkt figures). This is significantly higher than the average. As long as player safety is not compromised, all the better. However, dialogue must not be forgotten.
Direct Red Cards –
The referee on Saturday was also strict when it came to direct red cards. Vernice has an average of 0.22 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 actions or behavior go unpunished. Players will need to behave themselves.
Second Yellow Cards –
Mathieu Vernice also knows how to 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). With so many yellows and reds, this is almost surprising. But it should be noted that the players were already relatively quickly out of the game to begin with.
Penalties –
Finally, regarding penalties, the referee on Saturday was even more than average, awarding 0.41 penalties per match, while the Ligue 1 average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08)..
