Earlier this week French officials, through their own organisation Syndicat des Arbitres de Football (SAFE), announced their intention to postpone the Ligue 1 games with 15 minutes to highlight the lack of respect for officials in the French game.
On Friday the French Football Federation (Fédération Française de Football) hit back at the officials by replacing all officials with third-tier officials.
“Following the decision from the SAFE to delay kick-off by 15 minutes in all Ligue 1 matches this weekend, the FFF, in agreement with the Ligue de Football Professionnel have decided to proceed with the designation of new referees who will respect the rules of the Federation. And the matches will kick off at their normal times.”
Of the 24 officials on the Uefa elite category list, the French FA are represented with Laurent Duhamel and Stephane Lannoy as their top officials.
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