**L

Lyon – The Olympique Lyonnais suffered a difficult defeat at Geoffroy-Guichard against Saint-Étienne, a meeting marked by a controversial arbitral decision and the resulting consequences. The result of the match, won 2-0 by the Stéphanois, is exacerbated by the red card originally attributed to Lucas Stassin and his consecration.

The decisive action took place at the 20th minute, when Stassin, after opening the score, struck Corentin Tolisso, causing a knee injury in the middle of Lyon. The referee, François Letexier, first whistled a red card, but the VAR quickly intervened to overturn the decision, punishing only Stassin with a simple yellow.

OL’s reaction was immediate and strong. John Textor, the club’s new president, expressed his anger and misunderstanding of the decision, highlighting the impact of the mistake on the game’s progress. “There is a total misunderstanding at the arbitration level,” he said.

Corentin Tolisso was forced to leave the field in crutches, and his fate remains uncertain, with fears about a potentially serious knee injury. The situation is all the more frustrating since the action was considered dangerous, with a tab on the back.

François Letexier, the central arbitrator, finally acknowledged the error and apologized to Textor, explaining that he was not fully aware of the severity of the injury at the time of making his decision. “Our player was heavily injured and didn’t realize at the moment,” he said.

Despite the arbitrator’s apologies, the defeat remains bitter for OL, and criticism continues to be made. The situation raises questions about the effectiveness of the VAR and the communication between referees and players. The Professional Football League seems to have to review its procedures to avoid such incidents.