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Lyon have submitted an appeal to the Competitions Organisation Committee (COC) of the French Football League (LFP), requesting that the result of their derby defeat to Saint-Etienne not be recorded until the disciplinary committee has made a ruling.
Sources close to the club confirmed on Friday that, while Lyon recognise their chances of securing a replay are slim, they hope the appeal will bring attention to their concerns and raise awareness within the committee and refereeing bodies.
The appeal comes just before Lyon’s final four Ligue 1 matches, with the club still in the hunt for a Champions League spot next season.
The sources explained that Lyon’s objective is to ensure that the remaining matches are conducted fairly, especially after the controversy surrounding the derby.
Lyon were defeated 2-1 by their fierce rivals Saint-Etienne on Sunday, in a match marred by multiple disruptions, including a nearly 45-minute interruption when a coin was thrown at an assistant referee.
The LFP’s disciplinary committee launched an investigation into the incident on Wednesday, with a decision expected by early May.
According to Lyon and statements from technical director Matthieu Louis-Jean, coins were also thrown at the Lyon players during their pre-match warm-up.
In their appeal, Lyon have emphasised that during a crisis meeting to discuss whether to resume the match, they expressed concerns that the safety of their players was not assured.
Lyon also raised another point of contention – the decision to rescind a red card shown to Saint-Etienne’s match-winning striker Lucas Stassin. The Belgian player was initially given a straight red card for a tackle that saw Lyon’s Corentin Tolisso stretchered off the pitch, but after a VAR review, the card was downgraded to a yellow. Stassin later scored his second goal of the match, securing the victory for Saint-Etienne.
Following the match, France’s refereeing body acknowledged the mistake, admitting that the red card should not have been overturned.
Additionally, Lyon have claimed that both the LFP and local authorities warned in a pre-match meeting that the game would not proceed if any banners reading “death to Lyon” were displayed. According to the club’s sources, such banners were indeed present at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard during the match.
