After his team’s defeat at Clermont (4-1), Will Still, the coach of Stade de Reims, was very annoyed by Mr. Batta’s performance.
Will Still says he lived “the worst day of his young coaching career” after the defeat of Stade de Reims in Clermont (4-1). The Champagne coach was especially angry with his players, who are going through a very difficult time, but he also had something to say about the performance of the referee, Florent Batta.
In a conversation with his counterpart Pascal Gastien at the final whistle, captured by Prime Video cameras, Will Still complained about the refereeing, and in particular the fourth goal, where an offside position by an attacker Clermontois (close to the Reims goalkeeper on the shot) was not sanctioned. To which Gastien replied that he had known this referee since ” five years “Since ” the National “, and that Mr. Batta was clearly ” unplayable ” for the team ” outside “.
Is Pascal Gastien telling the truth?
The statistics don’t really prove Pascal Gastien right. In the five previous matches where Mr. Batta officiated in Ligue 1, before this Clermont-Reims, there were… five away victories. And its overall record over the season, in 12 matches, is three home victories, three draws (including two Clermont matches), and six successes for the away team. Not so “unplayable”, then.
Finally, Mr. Batta has never refereed Clermont in National. Pascal Gastien discovered this referee at this level, but it was in 2010 and 2011, with the Chamois Niortais. Among the lot, there was a trip to Nîmes (3-2 defeat by Niort), where the visitors left with six yellow cards in the second half. It is perhaps this match which left a bad memory for Pascal Gastien…
