Scheduled for this Sunday at 3 p.m., the meeting between Lille and Angers will be refereed by a Portuguese referee. At a press conference, Paulo Fonseca made it clear that he did not approve of this initiative by the FFF.
Let the players of Lille and Angers be warned, it will not be easy to discuss this Ligue 1 match with the referee, not in French in any case. And for good reason, the man in black designated to lead this meeting is Portuguese. The so-called Miguel Nogueira will take control of his very first Ligue 1 match.
This feature is part of an exchange program between the French Football Federation (FFF) and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). This is not the first time that a Portuguese referee has traveled to France. As reminded The Voice of the Northa similar operation had already been carried out in 2021 during a clash between Racing Club de Lens and Bordeaux (3-2).
“I admit that I do not like this situation”
The rules of football being the same everywhere, the nationality of the referee is not a priori likely to influence the course of the game. For Paulo Fonseca, the coach of LOSC, the FFF would however have done better to abstain. In a press conference, the former coach of AS Roma did not hide a certain annoyance.
“I admit that I do not like this situation. I think it’s very difficult for a referee who comes from Portugal. It can be a good situation for another game, but for our game, I don’t like this situation. I’m Portuguese, we have a lot of Portuguese players, I think it’s not good”. explained the 49-year-old technician.
Paulo Fonseca, Lille coach, is really classy.
To a question on the appointment of a Portuguese arbitrator pr #LOSCSCO, he answers you frankly: “I am Portuguese, we have a lot of Portuguese players, I think it is not good. »
— Mohamed TOUBACHE-TER (@MohamedTERParis) November 12, 2022
The Mastiffs have four players from Portugal in their squad (André Gomes, Jose Fonte, Tiago Djalo and Angel Gomes).
