The clash between Lens and Marseille on Saturday, which ended with a 2-1 victory for Lens, will be remembered for more than just the result. The match, crucial in the race for the second place in Ligue 1, was marred by an altercation that occurred when Facundo Medina sent a ball towards the Marseille bench. Newly emerged footage from Amazon Prime Video, aired on their show “Dimanche Soir Football,“ sheds light on an incident involving Dimitri Payet slapping Yannick Cahuzac during a heated exchange.
— Hadrien Rivayrand 🇫🇷🇧🇷 (@HRivayrand) May 8, 2023
Following the incident initiated by Medina’s ball towards the Marseille bench, tensions rose between players from both teams. Once things calmed down, referee Clément Turpin took action by dismissing a member of the Marseille staff and Yannick Cahuzac, who is now an assistant to Lens coach Franck Haise. However, the Amazon Prime Video footage revealed an additional altercation: Dimitri Payet, who was on the bench at the time, delivered a slap to Cahuzac.
Request for Punishment: Franck Haise was quick to react to the incident, urging referee Turpin to penalize the Marseille midfielder. “Monsieur Turpin! Monsieur Payet should receive a red card! Did you not see the slap?” Haise exclaimed.
Surprisingly, Payet escaped any form of punishment and later came off the bench to score Marseille’s only goal of the match. Despite his goal Lens ultimately secured the second spot in the league table, trailing behind Paris Saint-Germain by six points.
GFFN | George Boxall
