‘The fact a VAR operator is a PSG supporter made me angry’ – Roberto De Zerbi reacts to VAR allegations | OneFootball

Another week in Marseille, and the subject of refereeing and VAR has been on the lips of supporters and those associated with Olympique de Marseille once more. The club published a communiqué earlier in the week criticising the choice of referee Jérémy Stinat, for their trip to Auxerre on Saturday evening. Stinat was involved in the sending off and subsequent three-month suspension of director of Football Medhi Benatia. During the week, further reports from local media Massilia Zone accused a VAR operator of having ‘publicly displayed on his social networks his passion for PSG and his dislike of Olympique de Marseille’, prompting the club to send a complaint to the referee arbitration board – according to L’Équipe. At a press conference attended by Get French Football News, Marseille head coach Roberto De Zerbi reacted to the choice of Stinat with relative calm. “Generally, I don’t know who the referee is. I don’t think the referees are acting in bad faith. I hope he has a good game and is calm,” said De Zerbi to journalists gathered at La Commanderie. Yet the tone quickly raised when addressing this week’s polemique which had taken rise on social media.“What bothers me is this thing about the video assistant referee VAR. If you’re a supporter, you’re at the stadium. The fact that a VAR referee is a PSG supporter made me angry. We’re all equal. I’ve worked in Ukraine, England, and Italy, and never seen this and it’s annoying for us and the supporters. We need to talk about it and clarify the issue.“GFFN | George Boxall – reporting from La Commanderie, Marseille.