Olympique Lyonnais is going through a tumultuous period, marked by declining performances and arbitral controversies. The bitter defeat against ASSE (2-1) and the derby against Saint-Étienne (2-1) exacerbated tensions, notably because of contested decisions by Adjudicator François Letexier.

The most serious incident was the encounter with ASSE, where Lucas Stassin was accused of having committed a gross fault on Corentin Tolisso in Old Trafford, but the original decision was questioned. The management of the arbitration finally acknowledged an error, considering that the fault was not a “manifest error”, despite the delicate nature of the injury suffered by Tolisso.

The derby against Saint-Étienne was also a source of debate. The arbitrator initially decided not to punish Léo Pérot for a fault of hand in the surface, before finally confirming the decision after the intervention of the VAR. This decision was justified by the fact that the position of Pérot’s arm was a “consequence of the movement of the defender’s body” and that there was no risk-taking.

These incidents fed into the criticism of John Textor, the owner of OL, about the quality of video arbitration in Ligue 1. He believes that the VAR has penalized his club eight times in two seasons, as confirmed by the DNA.

Beyond the arbitral controversy, OL is faced with other difficulties, including the absence of players, the unsuccessful tactical choices of Paulo Fonseca and the limits of the strength.

In parallel, French international Moussa Dembélé has embarked on new projects by investing in global football. He became the owner of a Lithuanian club, the FK Minija Kretinga, and also acquired another club in Mali, via his company Triple M.

These complex events suggest a busy week for Olympique Lyonnais, with the need to quickly recover and overcome these obstacles to regain performance and confidence.