Richardson should have been booked for tackle on Tiago Santos, French referees admit

France's refereeing directorate said on Tuesday that Le Havre midfielder Amir Richardson should have been booked for the tackle that ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in Lille full-back Tiago Santos's right knee, but that it was not necessarily a red card.

Santos, 24, was stretchered off in the 17th minute of Lille's 1-0 win over Le Havre on Saturday. Referee Bastien Dechepy and the VAR took no action. It is the Portuguese defender's second ACL rupture in two years: the first, to his left knee in October 2024, kept him out for nearly a year.

Lille said on Monday that "no sanction was given, not even a caution", asked the French federation (FFF) and the league (LFP) to review how the officials handled the incident, and reserved the right to take legal action.

In its matchday 6 debrief, the directorate agreed that "a caution would have been justified", but added that "although regrettable, the injury resulting from the contact cannot by itself dictate the nature of the disciplinary sanction". It ruled that Richardson went in "without excessive speed or brutality": reckless under Law 12, not serious foul play.

Le Havre, bottom of Ligue 1 and still without a win, backed Santos but questioned Lille's push for a retrospective sanction, which it said "would not fall within the regulatory framework in force". Richardson, on loan from Fiorentina, wrote to Santos: "Get well soon, my brother!"