Nantes v PSG: Referee appointed for Ligue 1 opening day clash | OneFootball

This Sunday, as part of the 1st day of Ligue 1 2025-2026, Paris Saint-Germain will face Nantes at the Stade de la Beaujoire (kick-off at 8:45 p.m., broadcast on Ligue1+). The referee for the match has been chosen, it will be Benoît Bastien (42 years old). He has a lot of experience in Ligue 1, with 258 matches to his credit.

The referee will be assisted by Hicham Zakrani and Aurélien Berthomieu. As for the role of 4th referee, it will be occupied by Jérémy Stinat. And video assistance will be provided by Eric Wattelier and Julien Schmitt.

Yellow cards –

With M. Bastien as the referee, we can expect yellow cards to be distributed fairly quickly during the match. Indeed, while the national average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation of 0.39), the referee has given an average of 3.93 yellow cards per match throughout his career in Ligue 1 (figures from Transfermarkt). This is slightly higher than the average, hopefully it will be in good management and protection of players, without forgetting dialogue.

Direct red cards –

The referee for this match is slightly severe when it comes to direct red cards. Indeed, Bastien has a rate of 0.18 direct red cards per match in his career, while the national average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). So, it's not a question of letting bad behavior go unpunished, nor of sanctioning in all directions.

Second yellow cards –

Benoît Bastien is not in the habit of sending off a player after their first yellow card in a Ligue 1 match. The national average is 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03) and he has given an average of 0.07. With many yellow cards and still some red cards in the first place, it's a small surprise. Perhaps the first yellow card does indeed calm the players down.

Penalties –

Finally, when it comes to penalties, the referee is slightly lower than the average with 0.33 penalties whistled per match, while in Ligue 1 the average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).

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