This Friday, as part of Matchday 18 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season, Paris Saint-Germain (2nd) will face Lille (4th) at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 9 pm, CET). The referee for the match has been chosen: Jérôme Brisard (39 years old), who has significant Ligue 1 experience with 169 matches under his belt.
He will be assisted by Alexis Auger and Gwenael Pasqualotti. The fourth official will be Hakim Ben El Hadj, and the video assistant referee (VAR) will be Alexandre Castro and Abdelali Chaoui.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Brisard as referee, we can expect yellow cards to be issued rather liberally during the match. Indeed, while the national average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation of 0.39), Friday’s referee has averaged 3.51 yellow cards per match throughout his Ligue 1 career (Transfermarkt figures). This is slightly lower than the average, but quite close. Let’s hope this is thanks to good management and communication, without forgetting to protect the players.
Direct Red Cards –
The man with the whistle this Saturday is much stricter when it comes to direct red cards. In fact, Brisard has averaged 0.23 dismissals per match in his career, while the national average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). There is therefore no question of letting bad behavior go unpunished.
Second Yellow Cards –
Jérôme Brisard doesn’t usually 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), while his is 0.05. With few yellow cards initially but numerous red cards, this isn’t illogical. It’s best to be cautious with this referee right from the start.
Penalties –
Finally, regarding penalties, the referee on Friday was above average with 0.38 penalties awarded per match, while the Ligue 1 average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
