There were thus five times fewer expulsions in six days of the French championship compared to last year. For former referee Tony Chapron, it is above all a “rebalancing”.
Red card… to red cards. Since the start of the new Ligue 1 season in August, referees have been less harsh with players. There were thus five times fewer expulsions in Ligue 1 in six days of the championship compared to last year: at the same stage of the competition, there were already 29 expulsions in 2022-2023.
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It therefore makes you wonder if the Ligue 1 referees have not forgotten their red card in the locker room before entering the pitch… or if the players have become gentle and calm on the pitch. For this part, Tony Chapron, former international referee, assures us, it is a “order“.
“It removes responsibility from the players”
“I think if we see less this year, it’s a rebalancing. It’s not that there are fewer fouls, it’s that last year there were too many red cards, he explains. The referees have been instructed, particularly on second warnings which can result in a red card, to be much more lenient, so that the penalty is not too heavy.“, concludes the man who is still nicknamed “Little Red Riding Hood”, for his very high proportion of card assignments (757 yellows and 65 reds during his career).
More discernment, understanding… And fewer sanctions, therefore, for one objective: to allow more play and, why not, to offer a more spectacular game. A vision of football which is not really to Tony Chapron’s taste. “I’m not a big fan of this policy because it takes away responsibility from the players, it seems to me. When you have warned one of them, normally they should be much more careful“, he believes. And tackles: “Rugby World Cup players are much more responsible for their actions in this sport than in football“.
Although this is only a first assessment after only six days of the championship, this trend nevertheless seems to be lasting: this drop in red cards had already been noted at the end of last season.