Ligue 1: the Refereeing Department admits an error by the referee after the serious injury of Lille's Tiago Santos, but...

Return to the infirmary box. After long months to recover from a serious knee injury, in 2024, Lille's Tiago Santos was once again the victim of a hard blow which will sideline him for many months last Saturday, during the 1-0 victory over Le Havre, in Ligue 1: total rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee, associated with a meniscal lesion. And this after a tackle from Amir Richardson. Neither the referee Bastien Dechepy, nor the Var, found fault with it, Le Havre coming away without a card, not even a yellow.

“The Club requests explanations on the assessment of this intervention by the refereeing team and on the checks carried out within the framework of the video assistance, with regard to a possible direct exclusion”, indicated Losc, Monday, in a press release, judging that “this intervention was dangerous, and punishable under the Laws of the Game by a direct exclusion of the player, regardless of its physical consequences”.

Here are the explanations. And they will undoubtedly not satisfy Olivier Létang and the northern leaders... As usual, the Refereeing Department returns to several actions which gave rise to discussion during the previous day of Ligue 1. In particular, there was talk of the penalty which was ultimately not awarded to PSG against Le Mans (3-1), knowing that Vitinha had his foot on the line before suffering a foul in the area, but also the injury to Tiago Santos in this expected debrief.

Without excessive speed or brutality

“Le Havre player no. 7 (Richardson) intervenes to play the ball and touches the back of the knee of Lille player no. 22 (Santos), who has positioned his leg between the ball and his opponent. Although regrettable, the injury resulting from contact cannot alone dictate the nature of the disciplinary sanction, it is explained in the debrief of the sixth day. The referee must notably assess the intensity of the intervention, the speed of execution, the materiality of the contact and the technical mastery of the player. In this situation, the Le Havre player intervenes without excessive speed or brutality. If his action remains faulty and “reckless” within the meaning of Law 12, it does not necessarily present the characteristics of gross misconduct.” In conclusion, the arbitration management judges that a “warning would therefore have been justified”, not a red.

Amir Richardson will therefore be able to play the next Le Havre match. The people of Lille will undoubtedly not stop there, they who had contacted the FFF and the LFP “in order to obtain an examination of the treatment of this action”, while asking the president of the LFP, Vincent Labrune, to refer the matter to the Disciplinary Commission. “Le Losc is studying possible remedies and reserves the right to take any legal action to obtain compensation for its damages. He will accompany Tiago in the steps that he decides to take to defend his own rights,” the Lille club further indicated on Monday.