Ligue 1: shoulder blow, "labrador", "fed up with this French refereeing"... Like Longoria, these leaders have gone crazy

Furious, Pablo Longoria castigated "corruption" in Ligue 1, a "shitty championship" according to the Marseille president , following OM's defeat at Auxerre last Saturday (3-0). Before backpedaling Monday noon . He is not the first, and certainly not the last manager of a French club to get carried away like this. Anthology of the most memorable meltdowns of recent years.

The end of the 2009-10 season was tense for Lyon, who had to finish in the top two of Ligue 1 to qualify directly for the Champions League. With, at stake, a nice jackpot. So when contentious decisions did not suit OL, held to a draw at Valenciennes on the penultimate day, in May 2010, Jean-Michel Aulas could not stand it.

"Last year in Bordeaux, we lost the title due to a refereeing error by Mr. Bré. Tonight, refereeing error again. In the end, it's a difference of 20 million. For referees who don't know," ranted Aulas, historic president of OL, in front of the Canal+ cameras. Lyon finished ^2nd with 72 points ahead of Auxerre (71), Lille (70) and Montpellier (69).

Shortly before half-time in a match against Valenciennes in May 2013, Thiago Silva put his hand on the shoulder of the referee, Alexandre Castro, to contest a decision. The gesture, deemed inappropriate, was punished with a red card. PSG was held to a 1-1 draw at home and Leonardo, the Parisian sporting director, was furious. In the corridors of the Parc des Princes, he protested and gave Mr. Castro a shoulder. President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi tried to calm the Brazilian down.

Leonardo, witness to a red card that was "unacceptable" and "incomprehensible" in his eyes, was given a nine-month suspension from all official duties by the LFP disciplinary committee. A sentence increased by an additional three months by the FFF in July. In this context, it was impossible to stay at PSG. Leonardo left reluctantly. He would return in the same role as sporting director six years later, in 2019.

Beaten flat out by Monaco (0-4) one evening in December 2017, Saint-Étienne sank even more after the exclusion of its goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier. The chairman of the board of ASSE, Roland Romeyer, let his anger explode on the sidelines of the pitch. To the point of being restrained by his coach, Julien Sablé.

Jean-Pierre Caillot is not the last to defend his favorite club, which he has managed since 2003. The Reims president, born in the same city, has sometimes felt relieved by the authorities and the refereeing. Like after a draw against Lille in April 2019. "I think that Stade de Reims is disturbing in the place it is" , denounced Caillot, while the club from the Marne was ^6th and in the running for Europe. "Let's leave the wealthy, let's leave the big ones, and then the small clubs like us, we have no place in football" , he had ironized on the microphone of beIN Sports .

And he added another layer to France Bleu a few minutes later, with the head of video assistance to the referee in his sights. "In my opinion, we're going to have to give a Labrador to the one who controls," Caillot had let slip , considering that Reims had been "robbed." David Guion's players finished the season in ^8th place in L1.

Already reduced to ten men against Clermont on the ^2nd day of L1 (2-4 defeat), Reims received a new red card against Lyon on the ^4th day (1-1 draw). This was the straw that broke the camel's back for Jean-Pierre Caillot. "I know that the small clubs have to go down this year, but we've had enough," the Reims president seethed in the mixed zone . "It's starting to get on my nerves. We're sick of this French refereeing! It's like that every week," he repeated.

Favorites in their Champions League semi-final, Kylian Mbappé's PSG fell from a great height, first in Dortmund (1-0) and then especially at the Parc des Princes in the return match (0-1) . For his first season on the bench, Luis Enrique struggled to convince the skeptics. After the elimination, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi was questioned about the future of his coach. Will he still be there in the off-season?

"What is this question?" , replies the president of the Parisian club . "Honestly, do you understand football?" , he asks the journalist coldly before leaving the mixed zone. Al-Khelaïfi has maintained his confidence in Enrique, who extended his contract at the beginning of February until 2027 .