Nine goals, four red cards and riots enough! Football has one or two memorable games to offer almost every week. What happened on Monday in France’s Ligue 2 can still be described as absolute madness without hesitation.
An own goal by EA Guingamp’s Vinent Manceau in the 2nd minute marked the start of a mad game at Metz. Jérémy Livolant equalized from the penalty spot after nine minutes, but FC Metz quickly pulled away again with a double strike from Ablie Jallow (10’/16′).
In a heated game, however, referee Pierre Gaillouste first dismissed Metz defender Kiki Kouyaté (31st minute) and then keeper Alexandre Oukidja (45th minute). Seconds before Oukidija was sent off, Stephen Quemper made the connection and Gaetan Courtet equalized from the penalty spot.
In the second half, Danley Jean Jacques, the third Metz pro, conceded the red card for a brutal tackle. Guingamp finally used the merciless superiority to clearly win the game after goals from Dylan Louiserre (69th), Warren Tchimbembé (85th minute) and Livolant (88th).
Coach attacks the referee
While Guingamp coach Stéphane Dumont accused Jean Jacques after the game that “my player might as well be in the hospital while we’re talking” and asked meaningfully: “Can’t Oukidija play without having his foot on my player?” guessed his counterpart László Bölöni sees what is happening on the pitch in a fundamentally different way.
“Take your pipe, put it somewhere, but hide it well so you never find it again,” the Hungarian demanded of Gaillouste. The referee made the decisions “blindly” and thus “destroyed” the game.
Metz player Ibrahima Niane also didn’t approve of the referee’s performance. The former Senegal youth international, who had to make way for substitute keeper Ousmane Ba after the red card against Oukidija, was so upset that he also saw red on the sidelines in added time.
Incidentally, there was no exercise in restraint in the stands either. The use of pyrotechnics was omnipresent, rows of drinking cups flew in the direction of the players and stewards had to put a fan who had stormed the field in his place.