The derby Saint-Étienne-Lyon leaves the world of football perplexed

Several days after the derby between Saint-Étienne and Lyon, the misunderstanding persisted around a red card granted to Lucas Stassin and then withdrawn following a VAR appeal. This arbitral decision aroused surprise and criticism in the football community.

Michael Gerlinger, who had never spoken since his arrival a year ago, also expressed his astonishment about the derby incident. Former Bayern Munich leader, Gerlinger is in favour of sounding the referees and plans to file an appeal with the competition committee. In his view, it is necessary to assume greater responsibility for arbitration in order to avoid discussions about the errors of the VAR or the arbitrators.

Said Benrahma leaves OL for Saudi Arabia

Arriving from West Ham during last season’s winter mercato, Said Benrahma contributed to the Lyon uphill in Exercise 2023-2024 with a total of six goals and ten assists in 37 games. However, his playing time has been reduced since August, and he was relegated to the bench. The Algerian international was finally loaned to Neom SC in Saudi Arabia with a purchase option of 12 million euros.

Since then, the Neom SC has validated its accession to the Saudi Pro League by beating Al Arabi on the score of 3-0, which will automatically activate the purchase option. Benrahma scored a penalty at this meeting. This transfer will help to bail out OL’s caisses, with bonuses of up to 3 million euros.

Remember that Benrahma was decisive ten times (four goals and six assists) in the eleven games he played in his new colours. In the future, he will be able to compete with former European football glories such as Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) or Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad).