Friday evening, François Letexier, French international referee, officiated a first division match in Ille-et-Vilaine, pitting US Bédée-Pleumeleuc, his favorite club, against Mordelles FC. He took part in an operation organized as part of the Arbitration Days.
“Give a good image of amateur Football”. While he usually officiates Ligue 1 matches, François Letexier refereed, on Friday evening, a match between US Bédée-Pleumeleuc, his long-time club, and Mordelles FC, in the Ille-et-Vilaine first division. . The French international referee took part in the operation called “Retour en terre amateure”, organized by La Poste, as part of the Refereeing Days (October 4 to 27), with the support of the French Football Federation.
“Rarely does a kop sing my name”
Often criticized in Ligue 1, François Letexier was received differently on his former lands. “I feel a much warmer welcome than usual. I rarely have people making banners for me, I rarely have a kop singing my name. These are moments that remain engraved in the memory,” he reacted with humor after the match.
Apart from this notoriety, very different from that in professional football, the French referee highlighted several dissimilarities. “It’s changing. It is not at all the same tactical and technical preparation. The idea of this type of moment is to recharge your batteries, to gain positive energy, and that’s what I did throughout the match,” he insisted.
“It was close to my heart”
Despite his experience, the 35-year-old referee admitted to having made some mistakes. “I hindered the game several times, it was far from perfect in terms of movement. I did my best, I always give my best whatever the level of the match,” admitted François Letexier. But this match was above all an opportunity to promote amateur football.
“It was important to me that we give a good image to amateur football. And I think that’s what we did, all together,” he rejoiced. A success therefore for the man who was elected best referee in Ligue 1 last May, for the second consecutive season.
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