“It’s a shame, it’s a scandal! » Commenting on the refereeing of the match between Lille and Rennes, Saturday January 3, Olivier Létang, the president of LOSC (lost 0-2 that evening), echoed his comments made on September 28, 2025, after a meeting of his team against Lyon: “ It’s a parody and it’s a scam. (…) It’s a shame. »
On January 14, 2025, when Olympique de Marseille equalized against LOSC, at the very end of a Coupe de France match, Mr. Létang came down from the stand to grab the arm of the fourth referee, at the edge of the field, in order to tell him that added time had expired.
At half-time of the match against Rennes, he also demanded to speak to the referee, then prevented his team from returning to the field, before changing his mind. LOSC coach Bruno Genesio had previously been restrained by one of his players as he rushed at the referee. At issue: the exclusion, questionable but not scandalous, of a Lille defender.
In a press releasepublished Wednesday January 7, the northern club condemned “with the greatest firmness [des] unacceptable comments and behavior »but he was referring to the homophobic chants and insults thrown throughout the match by one of his groups of supporters, in particular against… the referee.
Scapegoat politics
The attitude of the Lille president does not represent a specific case, but a good example of the banality of the denigration of referees. In the only sport where such disrespect towards them is tolerated, it is not surprising that club officials align themselves with the level of objectivity and moderation of the most vehement of supporters.
Could the problem be French? It arises in all countries… Mystery of a profession which only recruits incompetent, even suspect, people. Mr. Létang declared, after the elimination of Lille by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, on March 12, 2025: “When I saw that the referee was Swiss-German, I found that special. »
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