Rothen Criticizes Lyon Sporting Director for Focusing on Refereeing After PSG Loss
Former Paris Saint-Germain player Jérôme Rothen has sharply criticized Olympique Lyonnais sporting director Matthieu Louis-Jean for publicly dwelling on refereeing decisions following Lyon’s narrow 2-3 defeat to PSG on November 10, 2025. Rothen argues that Lyon’s leadership should highlight the team’s positive performances and emerging talent instead of contesting the officiating.
The controversy stems from Louis-Jean’s post-match comments regarding the refereeing of the Ligue 1 clash. While acknowledging widespread frustration with the decisions made during the game, Rothen believes focusing on perceived injustices deflects from Lyon’s noteworthy achievements, notably the competitive showing of a young squad against the league leaders. This debate arrives as Lyon navigates a period of rebuilding, aiming to establish a consistent pathway for youth progress alongside strategic recruitment.
“When I see what is happening in the match of Lyon. That Mathieu Louis-Jean,the sports director of Lyon… and there,I blame the leaders. He’s the sporting director of Lyon, damn it. Talk about good performance rather than talking about refereeing.We don’t need you to tell us ‘we’ve been cheated.’ We certainly know it, we have seen it,” Rothen stated on RMC. “Talk about what happened in recruitment, the youth which is good. The Moreira who is surprising, the morton who is good. This Lyon team, at times a Youth League team, upset PSG. Tell us about that rather than talking about refereeing errors,we’ve all seen it.”
Rothen specifically pointed to the positive contributions of players like Moreira and Morton, emphasizing that Lyon’s ability to challenge PSG with a largely youthful team is a more compelling narrative than dwelling on contentious calls.The article was originally published on Foot Mercato at 21:24 on November 10, 2025, and updated at 22:00.
