72e minute of play at the Licorne stadium, Moussa Soumano, is the victim of a tackle from behind in the middle of the penalty area from Kaiboue, the Amiens defender. Mr Ahmed Taleb inexplicably lets it play. Worse, he immediately expels Yohan Cavalli, the sports director, unhappy with the arbitration decision. An injustice which comes after the oversights against Lorient, but also the flagrant hand not whistled in the middle of the Caen penalty area, or the red cards shown far too quickly against Martigues. This Saturday afternoon, in addition to the forgotten penalty on Soumano, Ibayi was also the victim of a hard tackle in the open area, again not punished. Amiens will even obtain a second penalty in the same match in a very generous manner. “U troppu stroppia” for the Ajaccian leaders.
“Decisions with variable geometry”
Faced with this series of bad decisions, the Ajaccian club decided to raise the tone by requesting the arrival of Anthony Gauthier, the director of French football arbitration: “Once again this season, the ACA is subject to arbitration… once too many! This afternoon in Amiens, Moussa Soumano was the victim of a foul near the penalty area. But the match referee did not see fit to award this foul, punishable by a free kick or a penalty. Annihiling a clear scoring opportunity from an opponent heading towards his goal by committing a foul, a gross foul and a tackle that could endanger the physical integrity of the opponent is punishable according to the assessment… This non- decision, changes the course of the match since it comes at a crucial moment in the game. A moment during which the ACA could have come back. Today, AC Ajaccio is wondering about this scenario that it is experiencing and which is repeated from match to match like the grotesque hand in Caen which made even its author smile or the unsanctioned foul on Sollacaro in Lorient (while the ACA received an expulsion for the same gesture in the same match)… in short, refereeing decisions which seem to have variable geometry or are difficult to understand. AC Ajaccio therefore officially requests the visit of Mr. Anthony Gautier, director of arbitration, to Ajaccio, in order to better understand the decisions which have harmed his team so far in the Ligue 2 championship. The club’s management had already requested and so far only obtained an oral interview less than a week ago… AC Ajaccio is more determined than ever to fight against injustice and to work for sporting fairness… for all.”
It now remains to know the response from the arbitration management and in particular from Anthony Gauthier.
Will he come to Ajaccio to explain himself? Response in the coming days.
