Jérôme Brisard has become one of the main characters of the PSG-OM match (0-1). A headliner costume that referees hate to wear. But the particular nature of the “Clasico”, the heightened tension on the field, the bad shots, the insults, the 14 warnings and 5 expulsions have tipped the match into a sad scenario in which he plays the leading role. “The match was out of control”, raged Leonardo after the match, furious at the choice of Jérôme Brisard to lead the early top match of the championship: “It is not to criticize the referee, but maybe it was not his moment to referee a Clasico“.
The mistrust is visibly obvious towards a man who has held the whistle in Ligue 1 since January 2017 and a Montpellier-Dijon (1-1), during which he had not issued any cards. Since then, the 34-year-old referee has led a record of 66 L1 games. He awarded 243 cautions and 19 expulsions, 13 of which were direct red cards. Statistics which place him among the average of French referees, even if he tended to have a heavy hand during his last outings. Brisard thus issued 8 yellow and one red card in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue (PSG-OL, 0-0, 6-5 after kfpm) and 8 cautions during Strasbourg-Nice (0-2). During the recent Clasico, he seemed quickly overwhelmed by events and not helped by the players who had obviously decided to strengthen their match. Faced with the controversy, Pascal Garibian flew to the aid of one of the hopes among the French referees. “On a technical, disciplinary and managerial level, we cannot blame Jérôme Brisard”, explains the boss of the Technical Direction of Refereeing (DTA). “When we analyze the cards awarded, all are deserved. Any referee would have made the same decisions. From the start of the match, Jérôme took out the first yellow cards to limit the players’ excess of force. He tried to do prevention throughout the game. Cautions are disciplinary sanctions intended to be preventive. It is clear that he was not heard.”
Explanations not necessarily convincing. Especially for Gilles Veissière. “Nineteen cards in a match, it has no tail nor head, squeaks the former international referee. A PSG-OM is not a match like any other. He was asked to drive a car for which he does not yet have a license. But it is not his fault, it is the appointment which is not appropriate. He knows the theory, of course, but not yet the practice. He is very good, he has qualities. But we don’t ask a young 34-year-old referee to lead such a match.” Faced with the accusation of illegitimacy, Pascal Garibian stands up behind Brisard, whom he had launched into the high-end refereeing in July during the final of the Coupe de la Ligue. “He is an experienced referee, it’s his fifth season in Ligue 1,” argues Garibian, who led 288 L1 games. He has just been nominated in the First Category of UEFA, the antechamber of the Elite group. He is an internationally recognized referee and for us he has all the legitimacy to referee our biggest matches.” However, apart from three qualifying matches for the Europa League, his international experience boils down to only one match, still in this competition. During this match between Getafe and Basel (0-1) last October, Jérôme Brisard had awarded 11 cautions and sent off a player. It is this lack of experience that Gilles Veissière points out. “During the Clasico, all the players are recognized and very experienced internationals, so he was the least capped on the field, it’s insane, notes the one who officiated during the 2002 World Cup and the Euro 2000 and 2004. A referee in a big picture must give guarantees. Refereeing is a question of balance. You have to know how far you have to tolerate things, what level of intensity you accept. To know where to place the cursor, you need to have led a few challenging matches.” For the former referee, the choice to appoint Jérôme Brisard for this shock at the top had all elements of a poisoned gift. With consequences that are difficult to imagine: “This kind of match can haunt you for a very long time”, concluded Veissière.