The Direction Technique de l`Arbitrage (DTA), the French Football Federation`s equivalent of the Premier League`s PGMOL, has officially confirmed that Rennes center-back Anthony Rouault should have been sent off. This verdict concerns his dangerous studs-up challenge on Lyon midfielder Khalis Merah during Rennes` 3-1 home victory against Les Gones.
The incident, which occurred in the 19th minute of the match, saw Lyon already holding a 1-0 lead thanks to Corentin Tolisso`s header. Rouault`s tackle dangerously connected with Merah`s right calf, with his foot subsequently sliding into the player`s ankle.
Following the game, Lyon`s Sporting Director Matthieu Louis-Jean vehemently argued that Rouault`s challenge unequivocally merited a red card. Such a decision, he contended, would have forced Rennes to play with ten men for over an hour. Instead, Rouault remained on the pitch and, ironically, went on to equalize for Rennes with just ten minutes left to play, at a point when Lyon themselves had been reduced to ten players due to Tyler Morton`s earlier sending off.
The DTA has now publicly sided with Louis-Jean`s assessment, thereby disavowing the actions of main referee Ruddy Buquet and, more notably, Stéphanie Frappart, who was serving as the VAR official. The official statement from the DTA explicitly highlighted the severity of the challenge:
“This punishable action clearly endangered the physical integrity of the player. Consequently, the offending player should have been sent off for committing a gross foul, and the intervention of the video assistant referee was expected.”
