Now retired, Björn Kuipers, 48, a Dutch international referee well known to Parisian supporters, is considered by many to be at the origin of one of the greatest injustices to which the capital club has suffered since the beginning. of the QSI era.
In March 2015, he expelled Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the knockout stages of the Champions League against Chelsea (2-2) (in the first leg, PSG had been held in check 1-1 at the Parc des Princes).
A red card that the referee will later regret in an interview with Dutch television.
His performance had generated a lot of tension on the pitch and frustration on the French side, even if the Parisians had finally managed to snatch the draw and qualification at the end of extra time.
#CHEPSG 31 ': Red card for Zlatan Ibrahimovic!
LIVE here >> http://t.co/TTpw5bP7TH pic.twitter.com/nLXVN8BAS2 image @canalplus
- The Parisian |
PSG (@le_Parisien_PSG) March 11, 2015
Asked by Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday, Kuipers called this match the biggest mistake of his career. “We all make mistakes, in every game,” he said. There is hardly ever a perfect match. But on a tactical decision ... It is in London, between Chelsea and PSG, in the eighth return of C1. I sent off Ibrahimovic, after 31 minutes, a direct red. At real speed, it's red. But in slow motion, it was better to put out a yellow. In this match, we failed as a referee team. "
While he had not hesitated to expel Zlatan Ibrahimovic for an awkward and far from dangerous foul on Oscar at the half-hour mark, Kuipers had shown more leniency towards Diego Costa, whose execrable behavior could have earned him a premature return to the locker room.
However, Chelsea did not really know how to take advantage of their numerical advantage against the collective Parisian superiority.
In recent years, Kuipers has been at the center of several controversies involving PSG players, Verratti having for example accused him of having uttered insults against him.