Ligue 1’s third-placed side Marseille released an official statement on Tuesday night to lament an alleged accumulation of decisions going against them, be it refereeing calls, fixture scheduling, or rulings made by the league’s disciplinary committee.
On Saturday night, Marseille lost 2-1 away at Lens in an all-important six-pointer in the race for the Champions League. Les Phocéens thought they had opened the scoring courtesy of Alexis Sánchez (34). However, the Chilean international was deemed to have fouled Lens defender Kevin Danso (24) following a VAR review by referee Clément Turpin.
Marseille have lamented “the unfair treatment linked to a lack of uniformity in the application of the rules for the use of VAR.” The club make reference to a challenge from Monaco centre-back Guillermo Maripán (29) on Sead Kolašinac (29) earlier this seasonthat was not sanctioned by a penalty. The press release also pointed out two “greatly unfavourable refereeing decisions” – an unsanctioned handball offense from a PSG player during Le Classique and the red card given to Leonardo Balerdi during a 2-2 home draw against Strasbourg.
The club ends their statement by calling for more “respect” and more “consistency” in future decision-making in order to guarantee the fairness of the competition, “assuming that this fundamental principle can still be preserved.” Marseille will host bottom-placed Angers on Sunday night for Ligue 1 matchday 35.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
