Lille’s Thomas Meunier apologises for referee outburst

Thomas Meunier (32) has apologised for his outburst towards the referee during Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to reigning Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain. 

Late in the game, with the score at 2-1 to PSG, Lille saw Tiago Santo’s goal disallowed for offside – and controversially so. The lines drawn by VAR did not take into account that Meunier had touched the ball after Benjamin André’s initial header. That elicited fury from the Lille camp, especially from president Olivier Létang, who questioned the league’s investment in video technology, as well as manager Bruno Genesio, who was left frustrated by the error. 

Meunier took to social media to criticise the decision: “Proud of the public and the fans, despite everything! I hope to soon be able to say the same about the referees…”

However, ultimately, it was discovered that Tiago Santos, following Meunier’s deflection, was still offside. Whilst there was still an error made, it was not a consequential one. In response to the clarification of the offside decision, which came via Le Parisien, Meunier took to social media to apologise for his initial outburst. “Mea Culpa towards the referees,” said the Belgium international. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle