The refusal to award a penalty for Ćaleta-Car's succession of fouls on the upper body and the legs of Evann Guessand was puzzling, to say the least. Puzzling because VAR had called the referee's attention to it, but also because Nice's indignation was not confined to this passage of play alone.

While there’s no questioning the referee's decision to award a penalty for Nandjou's clumsy handball, a whole series of decisions throughout the match led to incomprehension as to whether or not VAR had been used. The video was used to cancel out Nice's first equaliser after a foul was adjudged to have been committed in the build-up, well before Guessand's final shot, but was not considered necessary to judge Lacazette's ‘technique’ in getting into a scoring position for his 2nd goal.

As the images were particularly telling, an on-field review would no doubt also have been useful in protecting Mohamed-Ali Cho, who was the victim of a spectacular charge by Tagliafico, before he was forced off the pitch. Ćaleta-Car was not an innocent by-stander either when it came to dealing with Sofiane Diop in the second half either. Two interventions that left the refereeing quartet and VAR unmoved, like the one on Guessand in the penalty box… An impunity that raises questions.

This list of grievances is a source of great frustration. Especially as it evokes a bitter feeling of déjà vu in Lyon. Each of the four trips over the last three years has brought with it its share of ‘misunderstandings’, of clear penalties not awarded and of those whistled eagerly when it appeared to fit the bill.

Yesterday, like today, the issue is not to be pitied or to question Lyon's victory. Even if it would be easy to characterise it as such. This is not the objective. The club has contacted the Direction Technique de l'Arbitrage (the Referee’s Technical Committee) and the LFP to obtain answers to its questions, in particular by accessing the sound recording of the exchanges between the referee and VAR. Explanations which, depending on the country and sport, are public.

Clarifications on the assessment of these situations are awaited in Nice. If just to understand… If that is even possible...

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