The sound system for referees is gradually arriving in the world of football. This weekend, Mr. Jérémie Pignard, referee of the PSG-Brest match, was equipped with a microphone to reveal his exchanges with the players during the match. Saturday afternoon, at the Parc des Princes, the discussions between Monsieur Pignard and Presnel Kimpembe, broadcast on the program Sunday night football on Prime Video, have particularly caught the eye.
At first, we see the Parisian captain heading towards the referee when returning to the locker room. He wishes to obtain an explanation as to the cancellation of the red card, initially addressed to the Brest defender Christophe Hérelle. Launched in depth by Messi, Neymar was illicitly mowed down by the former Nice player, in the position of last defender, and was logically excluded by Monsieur Pignard. However, the Brazilian striker was in an offside position when called. The referee therefore decided to cancel the sanction against the ex-Troyan.
“Why get excited? »
A decision that Presnel Kimpembe did not really taste. “Even if there is offside, does that mean he can cut it out and there will be nothing? “Asks the defender, raising a real question. Should Christophe Hérelle have been excluded regardless of Neymar’s position on the action? “It was a (second-hand) annihilation for me, in the position of last defender. For me it was enough, “replied the referee, considering that the intervention of Hérelle was not dangerous enough for the red card to be maintained. “If it was a gross foul, I would have kept the red one,” he added, promising to look at the footage again.
After this courteous exchange, much more limited remarks will come from the Parisian defender. At the very end of the match, Kimpembe is on the verge of expulsion for an uncontrolled tackle on Irvin Cardona. As tempers began to heat up between the defender and the Brestois Jean-Kévin Duverne, Mr. Pignard intervened to separate the two men. “Wesh, don’t touch me brother!” Why are you touching me? “, then launches Kimpembe by violently pushing back the arm of the referee. “Why get excited? “, then replies Jérémie Pignard, in an Olympian calm.
On this tackle, the Parisian captain was injured and should miss several weeks of competition. The club should communicate on this subject on Monday but it is already noted that Kimpembe will not participate in the next meeting with the France team, scheduled for Monday, September 19.