Headline: Le Mans’ Controversial Goal Declared Valid by French Football Refereeing Body
In a recent Ligue 1 match, an apparently contentious goal scored by Le Mans has been confirmed as legitimate by the refereeing body of French football. This decision comes despite Auxerre manager Will Still arguing that television replays indicated the goal should not have counted.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Le Mans taking the lead through a header from Lucas Buades. Auxerre goalkeeper Paul Nardi seemed to have stopped the ball right on the goal line. Referee Willy Delajod’s watch vibrated, indicating that the ball had fully crossed the line, leading him to award the goal. The decision was backed by VAR officials, whose audio discussions were published after a recent review by the Arbitration Directorate, which governs refereeing standards in France.
Still expressed his outrage following the match, asserting that the officials wrongly identified his goalkeeper’s gloved hand behind the line as the ball. “It’s his glove, I swear to you it’s his glove on this play,” Still stated. He insisted that a specific replay angle available on Ligue 1+, the league’s official streaming service, strongly suggested the ball had not crossed the line. However, this viewpoint was not acknowledged in the Arbitration Directorate’s official response.
The Arbitration Directorate affirmed in a statement, “Following the header by Le Mans player number 18 (Buades), the referee’s watch vibrated to indicate that the ball had fully crossed the goal line.” They also noted that VAR officials reviewed all available footage but could not find evidence to dispute the goal-line technology signal.
The statement continued, “Given the exceptional nature of the situation, the referee decided to consult the available footage himself at the side of the pitch. This footage did not allow him to definitively establish that the ball had not fully crossed the line, and thus the goal decision stands.”
Ligue 1 has employed goal-line technology since it was first introduced at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
