Ligue 1 – OM-OL: “Someone has to explain the rule to me”, “you need a referee up to the task”: OM are not losing their temper

“The result is completely influenced by the arbitrationhe said at the microphone of Amazon Prime. There is a penalty for us in the first half but he does not whistle it. In a match of this importance, in a classic, you need a referee up to the game“.

The penalty in question is this cross from Gerson in the 25th minute, involuntarily diverted with his arm by Dembélé, who was tackling. After a quick “check” by the VAR, the referee asked the Marseillais to play the corner, much to their anger. For them, the hand was obvious. “There was a penalty, it’s very cleargot angry Sampaoli on the air. We took a penalty like that against Paris… We have already been penalized in Paris, and again here. I believe that the criteria should be standardized so that no one is penalized, as we were this evening.” Same story on the side of Pablo Longoria, who does not understand.

“Someone has to explain me the rule of the handthe Marseille president was in despair at the microphone of Amazon Prime. I thought there was no hand when you fell and it was in a natural position, not when you increased your contact surface… For me, we are coming to a time when the rule needs to be clarified. From the moment you fall, you can’t take your hand away, that’s normal. But it’s not here! It’s not on the ground, he (Dembélé) enlarges the body… From the moment you enlarge the body, there is supposed to be a penalty. I did not agree with the decision against PSG but there, if we look, it is bigger! Someone has to explain the rule once and for all !”

If a clarification of the rule on the hand would not hurt anyone, and probably even the referees, it is not the only decision that OM had trouble swallowing.

For Pablo Longoria, Lyon’s first goal should not have been validated. “I did not see the images well but there is talk of a possible offside at the start of the action I believehe asks first before continuing, once informed of the non-infringement of the OL striker. Now, if you look at the hand of Pau Lopez, it’s still strong the state of his hand. Even more at a time like this, after contact with him…”

The Marseille president criticizes Moussa Dembélé for stepping on the hand of his goalkeeper. A physically indisputable fact but which the referee deemed involuntary. The turning point of the match for Jorge Sampaoli. “We are better until their first goal, which changed everythingexplains the Argentine coach. Before the referee’s mistakes, we were better, we didn’t suffer from the match, we had control. Unfortunately we are penalized and we cannot change that. I regret it because our team was superior in the first half. We were protagonists, we had chances…”. But they were clumsy.

However, Olympique de Marseille cannot afford the luxury of remaining frustrated for long. “We have seen painful things for us, which we must bearadmits Sampaoli. There is no other solution, we have to think about Thursday (semi-final second leg of the Europa League Conference) and keep our lead in the league“. Because this sad end to the weekend for Marseille, which has just lost twice in a row for the first time this season, endangers its second place, with Rennes and Monaco back to just three points, three days of the end. Winning has become as imperative as an excellent remedy after a defeat.