Leonardo Balerdi and Pablo Longoria are a hit in the arbitration!

This Sunday, the 22nd day of Ligue 1 ended with a nice duel between Olympique de Marseille and Strasbourg. Led by a goal from Emanuel Emegha in the first period, the Phocéens came back with a penalty converted by Mason Greenwood in the second act. A match ends with a score of 1-1 which is quite logical in relation to the nature of the meeting. However, after the match, Olympique de Marseille captain Leonardo Balerdi pulled the pin after the refereeing of Bastien Dechepy.

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Believing that the latter did not sufficiently sanction the Strasbourg players in a rather choppy match, he also noted contentious situations that could lead to penalties on Jonathan Rowe (83rd) and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (90th +4). The Argentine defender did not mince his words at the microphone of DAZN : «we have done a lot of things, but I also think that there are borderline situations. Sometimes we try to stay calm, but there are heated situations and the referee doesn't whistle even though it's a clear penalty.»

Pablo Longoria went to the front

The former Borussia Dortmund player went on to say that he was fed up after recent weeks marked by contentious situations during certain meetings: “They made a thousand mistakes and the referee didn't blow the whistle. He didn't whistle, not even a little, we only have to give a red against us. The reds and the penalties, it's only against us, it's incredible. It's always the same problems, always.» A context which affects Olympique de Marseille and which pushed its president Pablo Longoria to also speak out.

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«I don't like to express myself after matches, but until when? I don't know what opinion you have, but the penalty action on Rowe is a scandal. This resulted in a goal, and the player was not in the act of playing the ball. What more is needed? How far will we get with Olympique de Marseille? I've been saying this for a long time about mistakes, why VAR doesn't stop (on the action). An action where he does not play the ball, he puts his hands behind his back, obvious action: penalty» commented the Spanish leader.

The latter then explained that the frustration did not only concern this match, but the start of the season. For Pablo Longoria, there are many situations where the arbitration does not go in favor of the Phocaeans: “it's too much. In too many matches, I don't know what we're looking for, if we're looking to penalize. If we are critical of the refereeing, we seek to penalize us even more. I don't understand, I have to say basta. I am not victimizing myself. We changed the dynamic of the match, it comes at a time when you can't accept that. Every weekend it's the same thing. The whole team is frustrated. Every weekend it's the same thing. I don't understand what they are doing in the VAR room. At some point, Basta!» The message is sent.