Football: a red that raises questions for Rodez

In Normandy, it wasn’t just the result that caused Laurent Peyrelade and his players serious headaches. In fact, at the end of this part against Caen, the Aveyron coach was extremely angry at the various decisions taken on Saturday evening by the referees led by Guillaume Paradis. And in particular one in particular, namely the expulsion against the usual left piston, replaced on the side in the back four for the occasion, Akim Abdallah. For him this expulsion, which follows a delayed confrontation not necessarily dangerous in the middle of the field, should never have existed: “It’s already difficult to play eleven against eleven, so ten… It’s even more difficult. Red changes the deal enormously in this game. If we take a red on this flaw, Ntim must also take one at the end and Abdi must take a yellow before our expulsion. “

With these words Peyrelade wanted to underline an alleged difference in treatment by referees between small institutions, such as Rodez, and the largest clubs in the league. “It bothers me. The difference in the status of players and clubs comes into play at a certain point. But hey, it is like this in all seasons. It is above all the disproportion of decisions that bothers me”in addition, he fell into a press conference.

Even the big teams sanctioned in practice

But then, is it true? Do the best teams in Ligue 2 get preferential treatment from men in yellow or black? At first glance, in the ranking of red cards distributed by club (see below), it is difficult to support these comments. In fact, the two teams that have received the most red since the start of the season (7) are none other than Saint-Etienne and Metz. Two great French clubs, then. This figure is obviously to be put into perspective, especially for the Greens, since the next opponent of the RAF in the Coupe de France (Saturday, at 15) had completely unlocked against Le Havre during the 4th day, chaining the huge flaws, who had earned him three cards of the heaviest suit in the same game.

In this ranking Rodez is in 7th place, with three expulsions recorded in 13 days (Pierre Bardy, Rémy Boissier and Akim Abdallah). They are only two less than last season as a whole.

A sense of hoarding

If Laurent Peyrelade was bothered by the Normandy arbitration, it is not the first time this season that this has happened. He had, in fact, already expressed his feelings on the subject after, in particular, the matches against Nîmes and Pau. His words are sometimes justified, sometimes less so, which reflect a certain tiredness over time. Peyrelade has the feeling that decisions always go in the same direction and he expresses it. It must be said, this time, that the figures do not contradict it. While Rodez is the seventh most sanctioned red team in Ligue 2, it is also the fifth to suffer the most penalties this season (3).

So, has the RAF been particularly undisciplined since last July 30th or is it undergoing a little different treatment due to its status? This question, Laurent Peyrelade seems to have asked and quickly answered …