At the heart of a season marked by controversies, many French referees are being singled out. Willy Delajod was not spared from this wave of criticism. This 31-year-old referee officiated for the match between Olympique de Marseille and AS Monaco. Some of his decisions caused scandal, such as the expulsions of Monegasques Guillermo Maripan and Denis Zakaria.

In an interview with Dauphiné Libéré, Willy Delajod explained that he had received threats following this meeting. “My phone, available due to my real estate activities, rang every two minutes. I received anonymous calls insulting me. I had to face a lot of opposition on social networks, to the point of asking my communications agency to delete all hate messages”

“People think the referee is indestructible, but no”

Despite his delicate evening, Willy Delajod believes that clubs should be more lenient with referees, who exercise their profession in difficult conditions. “When a club feels wronged, it pushes with all its weight on a referee who will find himself alone against 3,000. We are all men and women, not robots, he continued. People think the referee is indestructible, but no.”

A testimony once again reflecting the divide which seems to be increasing between referees and other players in French football.