Official | Referee department admits mistake in denying OGC Nice penalty during Lyon defeat | OneFootball

The French Football Federation’s refereeing department has admitted to making a mistake in not awarding OGC Nice a penalty during Sunday’s 4-1 defeat to Olympique Lyonnais.

The Nice forward Evann Guessand (23) was fouled in the box by the Lyon defender Duje Ćaleta-Car (28). The Lyon defender could be spotted holding onto Guessand as the Nice player tried to play the ball. Furthermore, as noted in the official analysis of the mistake, Ćaleta-Car was seen stepping onto Guessand’s foot.

It was an incident which should have resulted in a penalty to Nice and a caution to Ćaleta-Car for unsportsmanlike behaviour. At the time, the referee was given a chance to review the incident by the VAR, however, after watching back the footage, the referee went with his onfield decision. The mistake was flagged up by Nice following the match.

The refereeing department in an effort to show full transparency has also released the audio between the referee and the VAR.

GFFN | Nick Hartland