Lille’s Rémy Cabella laments lack of VAR check on Auxerre penalty call | OneFootball

Lille took another blow to their quest for European football with yesterday’s 1-1 draw to Auxerre. While the northern French club remains fifth in Ligue 1, that too can change when Rennes and Lyon take the field later today. The sense of a missed opportunity was only magnified by a controversial penalty decision conceded by Lille midfielder Rémy Cabella, leading to Auxerre’s equalizer. Cabella expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee’s decision stating, “I didn’t throw myself into the challenge, I was defending. At real speed maybe you can see that there is a penalty but I talked a little with him (M’Changama). I brushed him a little on the foot and I don’t think it deserved a penalty and even he told me so.”

The former Marseille player also remarked that he wished the referee, Stéphanie Frappart, had worn a microphone during the game and questioned why Frappart did not check the VAR and hoped for better communication between referees and players during the game.

“There is the referee, and there is VAR. That’s what they are there for, to watch, to check. If we don’t check and she says that in the VAR bus they see penalty, it is that there is penalty. Now it’s over, but he and I know that there was a little touch, but not enough for the penalty… We are frustrated because we had the game in hand and in the end, it’s 1-1. We once again lacked a finishing teach.”

LOSC have a manageable schedule for the rest of the season, but need to capitalise on matches like the one against Auxerre. While the penalty changed the game’s outcome, Lille failed to take advantage of their chances and show dominance against the relegation battlers.

GFFN | Tony DesRois