Daniel Riolo, editorialist for After Foot, was rather understanding of the anger of Medhi Benatia, who denounced his exclusion during the Coupe de France match between OM and Lille (1-1, 4 tab 3) , Tuesday.
The round of 16 of the Coupe de France between OM and Lille (1-1, 3 tab 4) ended in anger and controversy. Medhi Benatia, Marseille director, denounced his expulsion by referee M.Turpin for a remark to the 4th referee on a forgotten penalty on Jonathan Rowe. Furious, the former Moroccan international defender was surprised to be the only one sanctioned in the middle of a big crowd. Olivier Létang, Lille president, thus escaped any sanction after also questioning the assistant referee on the sidelines.
“He feels like every time he opens it, someone is falling on him”
“Tonight, what I have just experienced is serious,” shouted Medhi Benatia at the microphone of beIN Sports. “We score, I go to see the fourth referee (Jérémy Stinat) to tell him that there was a penalty (on Rowe). In passing, I remove my coach who is arguing with Olivier Létang. There is a lot of people at that time, around fifteen people arrive from 50m away, he comes there and 'bam' red I come back to see the fourth referee who tells me that I threatened him with the. finger.”
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In the After Foot, Daniel Riolo was rather understanding of the anger of the Marseille leader. “He (the referee) still draws really quickly,” he remarks. “He (Benatia) has the impression that every time he opens it, someone falls on him. We know that he is expressive, sanguine, that he wants to participate in the collective effort of his team, he wants to give character if every time you express yourself, you take a card, it's still hot.”
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Florent Gautreau appears more taken aback by Benatia's interventionism. “I find him very excited,” he remarks. “What if he finished the match in his place in the stands and then went down afterwards? Being there, at the edge of the pitch, in 'I'm putting pressure on the referee' mode because that's still the case when he said to him: 'there was peno' before the penalties. Why is he going down?
“I don’t know if it’s to put pressure,” wonders Daniel Riolo. “He wants to participate with the players, he is next to De Zerbi. Perhaps he should impose this discipline on himself to say to himself: 'I'm not going there, that way I don't risk'.”
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