French referees uphold Le Mans 'ghost goal' despite Will Still's glove-not-ball claim

France’s refereeing authority has confirmed that a disputed goal scored by Le Mans in last weekend’s 1-1 Ligue 1 draw with Auxerre was legitimate, dismissing Auxerre manager Will Still’s claim that goal-line technology had misread the situation.

The controversy centred on a header from Le Mans forward Lucas Buades that Auxerre goalkeeper Paul Nardi appeared to claw away on the goal line. Referee Willy Delajod’s watch vibrated to signal the ball had fully crossed the line, and VAR officials reviewed the available footage without finding evidence to contradict the technology’s reading. Delajod then consulted the footage himself at the pitchside monitor before confirming the goal.

Still, the former Southampton head coach, was adamant after the match that the technology had been deceived. “It’s his glove, I swear to you it’s his glove on this play,” he said. “If you saw the image from behind the goal. It’s impossible that this ball has entered the goal.” Still pointed to a specific camera angle that he argued demonstrated the save had been made, though the Arbitration Directorate — the body that oversees refereeing in France — did not address that particular footage in its published response.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Arbitration Directorate outlined the sequence of decisions: “Following the header by Le Mans player number 18 (Buades), the referee’s watch (Willy Delajod) vibrated to indicate that the ball had fully crossed the goal line. The video assistant referees carefully reviewed the available footage but were unable to identify anything that contradicted the signal transmitted by the technology on the goal line. This footage did not allow him to definitively establish that the ball had not fully crossed the line. The goal decision therefore stands.”

Ligue 1 has used goal-line technology since the system was first introduced at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The ruling means the 1-1 result stands, leaving Auxerre without the point that a disallowed opener might have cost them.