On RMC, the former OM player said he understood the frustration of the Phocaeans with regard to the refereeing decisions, against the RCSA this Sunday as since the start of the season: “There is the expulsion of (Leonardo) Balerdi in Lyon, there is the expulsion of (Amine) Harit against PSG and the one that did not take place against (Wilfried) Singo in Monaco (against PSG for a foul on Gianluigi Donnarumma, editor's note). That’s also where frustration comes from. »
The fact remains that, for Eric Di Meco, OM is a little too “self-centered” : “Already, you are self-centered, so you look at everything that goes against you, you don’t look at what goes in your favor and you always compare to others. And so, in these cases, you are always frustrated and you think, perhaps rightly, that you are a little more wronged than the others. Ok, that's the story and then everyone is frustrated since last Wednesday, the president of Lille also went down (on the field, without being expelled like Medhi Benatia, editor's note). In the same match, both presidents were not happy. »
“When the locker room hears that you’re still crying at the referee…”
But for the former player, OM's offensive communication is not necessarily the best way to make yourself heard: “Where I am from the Fabrizio Ravanelli school is that I think that when you do too much like that, at some point it works against you. That is to say that the referees… The famous penalty, the one that was whistled and the one that was not whistled on Sunday evening, I swear there are plenty of them that are whistled or not whistled on both same actions. So it's almost the coin (heads or tails) and this is perhaps where we don't understand everything. But you tell yourself that the referee, by force, by force, by force… The referees talk among themselves and have meetings. The head of the referees, he must talk to his referees. »
-Eric Di Meco even thinks that it is “harmful” for players: “When the locker room hears that you are always crying at the referee, then you have a locker room and a player where they are always looking for excuses. So when the president or the sports director gives you an excuse, you use it. » The person concerned even thinks that Leonardo Balerdi's behavior stems from this atmosphere.
According to the consultant, OM should have complained “after the match against Lille”particularly on “the penalty on (Pierre-Emile) Hojbjerg”. And not necessarily this Sunday.
