IS NANTES COACH MICHEL DER ZAKARIAN RIGHT TO CLAIM PSG ‘KNOW HOW TO CHEAT?’
Bleacher Report
Feb 12 2015
By Andrew Gibney
Fortune favours the brave, or so the old saying goes. For teams
chasing glory in Ligue 1, they may suggest that fortune favours Paris
Saint-Germain this season.
Over the last few weeks, a number of figures within the league have
spoken out regarding certain tactics undertaken by the Parisian side
in order to get one over on their rivals.
Before Wednesday’s Coupe de France fixture against Nantes, Armenian
coach Michel Der Zakarian told a news conference, via Ian Holyman of
ESPN FC, that as well as playing well on the pitch, his team would
have to show a certain level of mental toughness to overcome the
Ligue 1 champions.
They are stronger than us. They know how to cheat, and they have all
the tools of a great team.
But you have to get in among them. If we’re nice, they’ll walk all
over us. If we don’t believe we can do it, we should stay here.
In the end, Wednesday’s game turned out to be a comfortable win for
PSG. Nantes put up little in the way of a fight once Edinson Cavani
turned in David Luiz’s free-kick. The game was over as a contest when
Yohan Cabaye stroked the ball into the empty net after Maxime Dupe
could only punch the ball as far as the edge of the box.
Der Zakarian will be disappointed in his side for their performance.
He may have believed they could beat the Parisians, but his players
didn’t seem to buy into his team talk.
In the build-up to last Sunday’s key match between Olympique Lyonnais
and PSG, Lyon coach Hubert Fournier also tried to exert the mind games
before the sides faced off. Fournier suggested, via the Guardian,
that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was making comments to referees in either
Italian or English so they wouldn’t understand.
The person who is going to be most provoked is rather Mr [Clement]
Turpin, like all the referees in this league who get insulted by this
person. Apparently, the referees are not bilingual or trilingual,
so they don’t understand. In a way, it’s better to speak Italian or
English to insult referees.
I don’t want [our team] to provoke. I don’t want us to insult the
officials. I hope we remember not to fall for Zlatan’s provocations.
During the 1-1 draw at the Stade de Gerland, it wasn’t Ibrahimovic
who intimidated the referee, but there were a few key decisions that
helped shape the final score.
With Lyon 1-0 up, a loose touch from defender Lindsay Rose saw the
ball fall to Marco Verratti. The little Italian took a touch, Rose
went to make a tackle and the midfielder went down.
Turpin pointed to the spot and Twitter was split down the middle with
regard to the referee’s decision. At first glance it looked like a
penalty, and Rose’s lunge certainly gave Turpin a decision to make.
>From the reverse angle, in slow motion, it looked as though there
was minimal, if any contact.
Ibrahimovic stepped up, and his initial penalty was saved by the
phenomenal Anthony Lopes. However, Turpin ordered a retake. The
Swede wasn’t going to miss a second time and went high into the
opposite corner.
At first, it looked like Lopes had moved off his line, but it later
turned out that the penalty had to be retaken due to encroachment
from the home side. Always playing mind games, Ibrahimovic, via Joe
Wright of Goal.com, backed up Turpin’s decision after the game.
“The penalty retake? If you follow the rules, it makes sense. It was
a good game but we should have won. Lopes made some saves, but we
had some chances where we should have scored.”
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas was less than convinced by some
of the decisions made by Turpin and took to Twitter to declare the
injustice he felt.
Aulas congratulated his players before suggesting that the series of
referring errors or interpretations was appalling. He also went on
to declare that the penalty against Rose was unfair and that PSG’s
players were also in the box.
When talking to Canal Plus after the game, via Joe Wright of Goal.com,
there was a hint of a suggestion that he felt decisions going in
PSG’s favour is par for the course.
We had our chances and an outstanding goalkeeper, but it’s more to do
with meeting regulations. [The Matuidi incident] was an indisputable
penalty. I’m very annoyed.
When you tell me that it wasn’t a deserved penalty, I think you’re
taking me for an idiot.
Aulas was alluding to an incident in the first half when it clearly
looked as though Blaise Matuidi handled the ball inside the penalty
area. It certainly looked clearer than Verratti’s fall.
There was also an incident in the first half when David Luiz charged
into Yoann Gourcuff in midair, which saw the midfielder go flying
but nothing was given in favour of the home side. It is easy to see
why Aulas would be annoyed and suggest that there was some level of
favouritism toward the Parisians.
This is probably the one subject you may find Lyon and Saint-Etienne
agreeing on.
Back in Week 22, Saint-Etienne were beaten 1-0 by PSG at the Stade
Geoffroy-Guichard. The game wasn’t lacking controversy, with Jeremy
Clement adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area. It looked
more like shoulder than arm, but regardless, FIFA rules class your
shoulder as your arm, something Clement himself wasn’t sure about at
the time.
The other big moment came at the end, when Ibrahimovic went studs
first into Romain Hamouma but only received a yellow card. It should
have been a red, and next week, the forward will stand before the
disciplinary committee to make his case. However, the suspension
of the decision has meant the Swede has continued to play a role in
Laurent Blanc’s lineup.
Veteran Marseille defender Rod Fanni is not surprised by Zlatan’s role,
and he plays the role as agitator brilliantly.
“I have had the desire to throw a punch at Ibrahimovic more than once,”
Fanni told Le Parisien (h/t the Guardian). “We have said things to
each other in English that I cannot repeat in public.”
He is playing a role with his arrogant behaviour and he is doing
it very well. They should give him an Oscar for it. He can be very
annoying out there on the pitch but that is a role he is playing. I
know some PSG players and they all tell me that he is not really
like that.
This is a role that continues off the pitch in front of the media. His
claim of being “the Boss” last week after PSG beat Lille, 1-0, in
the semi-final of the Coupe de la Ligue shows he wants to project
his role as leader for everyone to see.
Perhaps the recent suggestions from both Der Zakarian and Fournier
is the Ligue 1 coaches trying to hit back at the feeling that PSG
are being favoured ahead of their own teams. However, it could be a
well-played ploy to try and highlight an issue that doesn’t exist,
but if enough people tell the same story, it can quickly become fact
rather than fiction.
Over the course of the season, many believe what goes around goes
around.
It is hard to believe that the LFP would have any bias toward the
Parisian giants, but it will be very interesting to see how future
decisions are made, especially if more Ligue 1 coaches are brave
enough to suggest that PSG are using intimidation or underhand tactics.
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