Everything could have changed in the 83rd minute of the closing match of the third day of Ligue 1 which pitted Lille against PSG (1-3) on Sunday. But the decision of Mr. Bastien (not helped by VAR), to refuse the equalizing goal to Tiago Santos and the Dogues, allowed Paris to stay ahead and finally win by scoring a third and final goal. The controversy linked to this decision has not stopped swelling since then and this Tuesday, the refereeing department (DA) of the French Football Federation (FFF) gave its final verdict.
In remarks given to the Parisianthe body confirmed that Tiago Santos was indeed offside. And the media published a video image proving that the Portuguese full-back was in an illegal position from Benjamin André’s cross, and that even when Thomas Meunier had touched the ball, he was still offside. It was precisely on this last point that Bruno Genesio in particular, and his president Olivier Létang afterwards, had quickly objected and complained.
Everyone has their own opinion
Manager-instructor of the referees of Ligue 1, and himself a former whistler of the French championship, Amaury Delerue thus considered that the decision taken by Mr. Bastien this Sunday had been the right one. However, this confirmation should not really satisfy the protesters. In the columns of
The Team On Tuesday morning, another former Ligue 1 referee, Saïd Ennjimi, considered that offside did not exist, recalling that Mr Bastien himself had admitted to having made a mistake just after the match.
” IYou don’t have to watch the video several times (…) It’s not even a question of interpretation by the referees and the VAR… It’s a gross error, quite simply! I don’t understand the VAR’s decision. “Watching the video again, on the contrary, allowed the DA to decide otherwise.
