Lille coach and president send a clear message after controversial PSG draw. Split reaction to the referee's added time decision.
Marquinhos’ equalising goal in the 95th minute of Lille vs. PSG (2-2) drew comments, but LOSC coach Davide Ancelotti did not want to stir up controversy. After the match, the northern coach preferred to highlight his team’s performance rather than comment on the refereeing decisions, unlike the rest of his club.
Davide Ancelotti is a good sport. Friday night, following the cruel scenario Lille experienced against PSG (2-2), the LOSC coach did not want to stir up controversy over the extended stoppage time that allowed the Parisians to take a point, with Marquinhos equalising in the final second of the match. “It’s a small detail. I don’t think this is the moment to talk about the referee,” Davide Ancelotti said in a news conference.
At the heart of the debate: the additional time allowed by Eric Wattellier, the match’s centre referee. While three minutes had been indicated by the fourth official at the end of regulation time, Wattellier let a good minute more be played. A decision that benefited PSG, with Marquinhos equalising with a header at 94:10.
“It’s not a big mistake by the referee […] I think the corner was before the 94th minute, and that’s his interpretation,” the Italian coach calmly added, preferring to focus on “the solidarity, the work and the commitment” of his players during the match.
But Davide Ancelotti did not hide the “frustration” he felt after the final whistle. “It’s the emotion we all have,” he thought. Olivier Létang would not contradict his coach. In the corridors of the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, the LOSC president was seen and, above all, heard a few seconds after the match ended.
“It’s a scandal!” the Lille executive shouted toward the officiating crew. “That referee doesn’t like us,” he reportedly added in the ear of Guillaume Hoarau, the broadcaster’s pitchside man, about Eric Wattellier. The pundit recounted the anecdote on Ligue 1+ and said Olivier Létang reportedly had even harsher words that perhaps did not deserve to be shared publicly.
And while the LOSC president does not share his coach’s view, he can at least stew over it with his captain, Benjamin André, who, as is very often the case, complained about the officiating even though he had miraculously avoided being sent off after committing three fouls worth yellow cards in barely 10 minutes. Mr Wattellier gave him only one, allowing him to continue until his coach, decidedly wiser than the others, took him off the field.
