Incident Grave to Geoffroy-Guichard: The Match ASSE-OL Interrupted by an Act of Violence

The shock between ASSE and OL, scheduled for Sunday evening, finally ended at 11:25 pm, more than four hours after its beginning. The end of the meeting, initially scheduled shortly after 9:30 pm, is due to a particularly serious incident: a supporter threw a piece on the assistant referee, Mehdi Rahmouni. This act, which closely recalls the incident of 2021 involving a bottle of water on Dimitri Payet during a match between Olympique Lyonnais and Marseille, caused a break of more than 40 minutes.

Contrary to the experience of 2021, where OL had lost one point and the game had fought behind closed doors, the game at Geoffroy-Guichard resumed. The assistant referee, after taking Doliprane, resumed his position and the meeting ended almost normally.

However, more than 12 hours after the events, no official communication was issued by the Professional Football League (FPL), despite its desire to establish zero tolerance of violence against referees. Neither the public authorities nor the arbitrators’ union reacted.

The main question concerns the resumption of the game, despite the visibly correct condition of Mr. Rahmouni. The issue of case law for similar acts is also at the heart of the debate.

The LFP, which must seize the case via the Disciplinary Commission on Wednesday, is strongly criticized for its silence. Beyond Mr. Letexier’s error in the absence of red cards for Lucas Stassin, this incident raises deeper questions about security and climate in Ligue 1, which is experiencing difficulties this season. The lack of a formal response leaves a vacuum of concern and raises questions about how the PSL intends to manage situations of abuse of arbitrators.