Former Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Fernandez patrolled the sidelines for many of the club’s best Le Classique fixtures. However, he never was a part of such a chaotic Le Classique as the one that unfolded over the weekend. The recent encounter between PSG and Marseille not only ignited the rivalry but it created even more tension between the two sides.
The two clubs combined for an astounding 14 yellow cards and five red cards along with a multitude of confrontations between players from each side. This type of on-field chaos is not even seen in other football rivalries, such as the Superclasico between River Plate and Boca Juniors. Fernandez attended the fixture, and he relayed his thoughts to Le Parisien on his disappointment with how the game unfolded.
“It was not worthy of two clubs of a certain standard normally,” Fernandez said. “Real and Barca, there is rivalry, but it does not end like that. Between Bayern and Dortmund or Inter and AC Milan either, while it’s even hotter. This end of the game does not give good publicity for football.
“We can’t say we saw a great game. We saw a match that ended badly, with bad attitudes.”
Jerome Brisard was the head referee for the contest and he has now been criticized for his handling of the fixture. Fernandez does not pinpoint the entirety of the blame to Brisard but believes that he could have reffed the fixture much better.
“When it comes to blows, when it comes to that point, there is too much carelessness,” Fernandez said. “If from the outset you make yourself respected. He may not have been able to control. But it was an unhealthy rivalry.”
PSG has to turn the page from the mess that ensued against Marseille and begin preparations for a must-win duel against Metz on Wednesday.
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