Unreal: Lyon-Auxerre could be replayed because of controversial penalty

What happened on Sunday in the Lyon-Auxerre game is difficult to explain, difficult to understand and, possibly, unheard of in football. The home side took the lead through a penalty converted by Mikautadze in first half stoppage time. The penalty was hotly disputed by the visitors, who claimed that the referee had awarded a goal kick before the penalty was committed.

The assistant raised the flag and it appeared that the referee's whistle came almost at the same time as Mensah's foul on the scorer. Auxerre's complaints went beyond anger: the team requested a technical booking, a mechanism in Ligue 1 whereby the play can be reviewed at the end of the match.

Jubal Junior, captain of the visitors, signed the document before half-time with the referee. This possibility means that, should the requesting team have been wronged by the referee's decision, the penalty in this case could be disallowed after the match and the game could be replayed.

Article 559 of the LFP Regulations on these complaints states: "A technical complaint is admissible only if it is made to the referee by the captain submitting the complaint when play is stopped as a result of the contested decision. If the protest concerns an event on which the referee has taken no action, it must be made at the first stoppage of play. In all other cases, the referee calls the captain of the opposing team and one of the assistant referees to take note. At the end of the match, the referee notes the protest on the match report and has it signed by the protesting captain, the captain of the opposing team and the assistant referee concerned. The delegate then records the technical booking. The technical foul is only accepted if the relevant committee considers that it has an influence on the final result of the match (cf. article 146 of the General Regulations). In order to take effect, this reservation must be converted into a complaint sent, within 48 hours, by registered letter to the headquarters of the Professional Football League, accompanied by the sum of 76 euros. The Professional Football League refers the case to the FFF's Federal Referees' Committee for a decision. The FFF Federal Referees‘ Committee will either confirm the result or decide that the match must be replayed". 

 

October 27, 2024