Tolisso asks officials to stop matches “in every stadium”

The Ligue 1 match between Lyon and Rennes at the Groupama Stadium (4-0) had a heated moment before halftime: the game was interrupted for around ten minutes in the first half due to a banner and insulting chants aimed at Saint-Étienne, as reported by RMC Sport. The referee in charge, Mathieu Vernice, sent the teams back to the dressing rooms after several warnings in the stadium failed to change anything. Once the decision was made, play resumed and the match continued without any further stoppages of the same kind.

The stoppage and what triggered it

Despite the clear outcome on the pitch, the controversy wasn’t about the score. RMC Sport says Corentin Tolisso went over to the Lyon ultras to ask for calm during the pause, before speaking about what should happen next.

“Do it everywhere”

Speaking in the mixed zone, the Lyon midfielder argued for consistent enforcement across the league. “C'est bien d'arrêter des matchs mais il faut le faire à tous les matchs”, he said, stressing that it shouldn’t depend on the result or on whether the OL are winning at the time (RMC Sport reports his point that it shouldn’t happen only when the home side is ahead). He also recalled the exchange with the match delegate: “Je suis contre cela, c'est sûr, mais il faut le faire partout”, adding that the approach forced a break when they didn’t want it.

With Lyon’s 4-0 win, the team moved to second place provisionally, but Tolisso’s message was about fairness: if matches are stopped for offensive banners and chants, the same rule should apply in every stadium.