Asked at the microphone of DAZN after the defeat of his men on the lawn of Lyon (4-1), Franck Haise returned to the contentious arbitration of Mr. Dechépy, while emphasizing the state of mind of his team.
Coach, how do you analyze this defeat for your team in Lyon?
What I didn't like about us was, first of all, having given Lyon's attackers too much leeway. We must be more rigorous and demanding on marking shots, on defensive gestures close to our goal in general. We can't hide behind the fact of having had a good match when we concede four goals, including two in three minutes just before the break. I didn't like it.
We feel very touched… You called for a penalty at the start of the second period after a foul on Evann Guessand, what can you tell us about the refereeing?
I don't like losing. Football, I've been into it for a long time, I was also a player. Defeats, victories, that's life. But I didn't like the refereeing. The images of the penalty not called on Evann Guessand? I have already seen them several times. There is a foul on the foot, a foul on the throat, he pushes it… How is it possible, today, not to call a penalty if it is not that Mr. Dechépy had chosen his side on the disputed actions? It's not even a contentious action, that's the problem.
On our refused goal, there is a micro-fault, they (Lyon) lost the ball 40 meters from the goals. The French referee told us at the start of the season that we do not whistle for micro-contacts. We return to the VAR and it is whistled. The action of our penalty, there is no need for VAR. And in the video, we see that there is a fault in the throat, that Evann is pushed, that there is a fault on the foot. Despite that, he manages not to whistle a penalty, it's still very, very loud.
How to react in these cases?
I breathe, I breathe very hard. The time I lost my temper with Mr. Dechépy, I was suspended for four games. I try to stay calm, yet I saw the action live, I told Mr. Thual, the fourth referee, that the foul on Guessand was very clear. Once reviewed, it is no longer that the fault is clear, it is downright crystal water. I don't know what the French referees are going to say, I don't know what their peers are going to say about an action like this, in the 49th minute, when we could have returned to 3-2.
Regarding the game, what was your objective in approaching this match with a decimated team? Did you focus on mindset or did you want to compete technically and tactically?
Obviously both were needed, the state of mind alone is not enough. We decided to defend in 4-1-4-1 so that, whatever their animation, we could respond to all situations with a compact 4-1-4-1. From that point of view, I think we were quite interesting, we recovered high balls. In our outings, Sofiane (Diop) came to act as the fourth man to give us the surplus in the middle. What we put in place on video was consistent and we created a lot of chances. Even if the xG (expected goals) do not make the result, since we lost 4-1 and no one will come back from it, I find that the score, in relation to the match, beyond our shortcomings and the refereeing facts, is very severe. That's why I'm disappointed for the players.
In terms of state of mind, are you satisfied despite a somewhat up and down performance?
I think the state of mind was good until the end. On the other hand, if we want to achieve results, we cannot have these two or three minutes of absence from the start. On the opening score, it's a mark that is not complicated to take, we know that Lacazette is excellent in his markouts, we must be much more vigilant. After three minutes, we've already put a little bullet in our foot. Then we put two more in each of the feet in two minutes before halftime. And on that, we need more rigor, more aggressiveness in the good sense of the word. Everything good the players did during a large part of the match, we ruined ourselves.
Do you have any news from Mohamed-Ali Cho, who was out injured?
I don't know precisely, but he felt discomfort, a slightly strong tension behind the ischio. He asked to go out, he obviously has a small lesion. As we arrive at the break in about twenty days, I fear that he will be the eleventh player on the injured list.
How do you see the future with so many injuries and two competitions to go, not counting the Coupe de France for the moment?
The Coupe de France will close the year 2024, we will have a week to prepare for our round of 32 and we will have to prepare as best we can. We'll see what happens in the coming days, see if we get any players back. I have absences which will last at least until 2025. Afterwards, it will be up to me to make choices, which will be guided by the squad. It's difficult to lead both competitions at the same time, we can't do it. I'm going to see what state I'm going to find everyone in, how we're going to spend the week. That won't stop us from fighting, the young people who played did good things, those who returned too. Even if we are 14 or 15, we will fight and we will try to perform on all fronts, even if I know that I have players that I put in danger. Mohamed-Ali Cho, I knew he had adductor tension, I preserved him on Thursday and the ischio gave out in the first half. We work with our strengths but we also have to work with our weaknesses. If I have to make certain choices, I will make them, as usual.
