Paris Saint-Germain boss Christophe Galtier confirmed a common Spanish insult was the cause of Sergio Ramos' bizarre red card against Reims, as he claimed referee Pierre Gaillouste failed to control the contest.
Ligue 1 leaders PSG dropped points for just the second time this season on Saturday after a 0-0 draw at Reims, failing to make the breakthrough against their struggling hosts after Ramos' red card.
Ramos received two yellow cards in less than a minute shortly before the break, having remonstrated strongly with the referee after tripping Marshall Munetsi.
The Spaniard's dismissal was the 21st of his league career (in LaLiga and Ligue 1) – at least seven more than any other defender in Europe's top five leagues has received this century.
Speaking after the draw, which leaves PSG three points clear of Marseille at the summit, Galtier stressed his belief that Ramos did not mean to offend Gaillouste.
"I know Sergio Ramos very well, I'm not sure that the insult that came out was directed at the referee," Galtier said.
"It's an insult that you hear all the time on a training ground, that you hear a lot in Spain. The referee took it from him and kicked him out, I'm not going back [to speak] on that."
PSG faced 24 shots against Reims, the most they have had to contend with in a Ligue 1 match since December 2011 (against Saint Etienne), and Galtier was unhappy with their performance.
"There was a lot of nervousness that I can't explain, on both sides," Galtier added. "There were a lot of duels, clashes, neither of the two teams mastered the events.
"None of the three parties, the teams and the referee, did control this game and there was a lot of nervousness."
Gaillouste has handed out six red cards in the six Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 matches he has refereed this season (four in Metz v Guingamp, one in Nantes v PSG, and one in this match).
Although Galtier disagreed with the decision to send Ramos off, he was equally irritated by the "stupid" nature of his red card, particularly given Ramos will now miss a meeting with Marseille next week.
"I will talk about it with them because there are sequences of matches. We need the maximum number of players," Galtier added. "Missing matches because we took stupid cards… obviously we have to fix that. I will talk about it with them."
PSG have only lost one of their last nine Ligue 1 games in which they received a red card and finished against 11 men (W4 D4), a 5-1 loss at Lille in April 2019.
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
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