The French Football Federation's refereeing department has officially admitted a refereeing error against Auxerre during their 5-2 defeat at Lens this Saturday. This decision concerns the penalty awarded against Arthur Piedfort in the 10th minute of play.
The Auxerre defender was penalized for a handball in his area after a duel with Ismaëlo Ganiou, allowing Florian Thauvin to open the scoring. The FFF now believes the Lens player initiated the movement of his opponent's arm by holding him during the contact. The body also stated the video assistant referee (VAR) should have recommended a review for the on-field referee, Mr. Buquet, to overturn his decision.
Auxerre approached this second Ligue 1 matchday after an opening draw against Le Havre (1-1). The game at Bollaert-Delelis quickly turned into a nightmare with this controversial penalty followed by the sending-off of Christ Makosso in the 35th minute for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by Abdallah Sima. Christophe Pélissier's team, down to ten men, then conceded four goals in the second half. The Burgundy club currently sits in 14th place in the standings after these first two matchdays.
Makosso's red card was confirmed as justified by the video officials. The debrief also validated the red card shown to Samir El-Mourabet during OM-Strasbourg for an act of brutality. For Auxerre, this admission of error comes too late to change the result but raises questions about the use of VAR early in the season.
Christophe Pélissier and his players must quickly move on before hosting OGC Nice next Saturday at the Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps. This refereeing mistake, although acknowledged, does not alter the record of zero points after two matches. The team will need to rely on attackers like Gaëtan Perrin or Lassine Sinayoko to find the back of the net again. The next home match is scheduled for September 13th calendar.
The Auxerre squad will train this week with the aim of securing a first win of the season against Nice.
