Lyon v PSG: DTA overrules VAR, another grey area in refereeing

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·13 November 2025

Lyon v PSG: DTA overrules VAR, another grey area in refereeing

The goal scored by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (24 years old) during the OL–Paris Saint-Germain match continues to be a topic of debate. Validated on the field and confirmed by VAR, it was ultimately deemed faulty by the Technical Direction of Refereeing (DTA) after review, as revealed by the League. Another illustration of the difficulty the French refereeing body has in speaking with one voice.

“Absence of ‘clear error’ in the referee’s decision”

“Olympique Lyonnais – Paris Saint-Germain (33rd minute) The Lyon player Tanner Tessmann tries to keep the ball about 25 meters from his goal when the Paris player Vitinha, intervening from behind, manages to deflect the ball with the tip of his right foot towards his teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The latter recovers the ball and scores the goal for his team. The referee considers that Vitinha's action is not faulty and validates the goal. The video referee analyzes the nature of the Parisian player's intervention during the ball recovery and concludes an absence of ‘clear error’ in the referee’s decision.

“The technical decision prioritized by the Direction of Refereeing is the annulment of the goal”

Analysis of the Direction of Refereeing The analysis of this situation is rather complex as it presents different criteria of interpretation falling within a ‘gray area’. However, considering the contact of the Parisian player's right leg on the back of the Lyon player's supporting leg very slightly before the ball deflection, this contact could explain the fall of the Lyon player, the technical decision prioritized by the Direction of Refereeing is the annulment of the goal and the resumption of play with a direct free kick in favor of OL.”

This sequence, occurring in the 33rd minute, perfectly symbolizes the chronic issue of French refereeing: an inability to establish a clear line between interpretation and clear error. At the time, the field referee and VAR judged that Vitinha (25 years old) touched the ball before Tanner Tessmann (23 years old), logically validating Kvaratskhelia's goal. But a few days later, the DTA judged that a slight contact by Vitinha on the Lyon player's supporting leg justified the annulment of the goal. In other words, two official readings for the same action.

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This reversal no longer shocks anyone as coherence crumbles week after week: some minor fouls lead to VAR interventions, others do not, without a guiding principle emerging. As long as referees do not clearly define the thresholds of tolerance – contact, intention, intensity – each weekend will fuel its controversy. Paris, Lyon, or Marseille, all are in the same boat: that of variable geometry refereeing.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.