Rouen’s unbeaten start ended under the lights on Thursday, with Caen leaving 3-2 winners after a match that also sent Régis Brouard from the touchline in added time.
The Rouen coach accepted that his side had been beaten by a strong Caen team, but his post-match frustration centred on the use of the Football Video Support system in Ligue 3 and the lengthy checks surrounding key decisions.
Caen’s intensity exposes Rouen early
Brouard said Rouen made a poor start and struggled to match Caen’s tempo during the opening 15 minutes. Caen’s early pressure was rewarded from a corner, a concession the coach described as particularly frustrating.
Rouen did find an equaliser, but Brouard said the goal took around 10 minutes to be confirmed. He said another goal was also subject to a similarly long delay, questioning the time required to validate incidents under review.
Caen then struck twice more, with the third goal arriving just before half-time. Brouard did not describe the goals as gifts, but felt his players had failed to compete properly in the decisive duels.
“We did not get into the match well in the first quarter of an hour,” Brouard said. “They brought a lot of pace and intensity. Conceding from a corner is always difficult.
“We had the chance to equalise, but it took 10 minutes to validate it. The second one also took 10 minutes. It is becoming complicated just to validate goals.”
First defeat does not alter Rouen’s outlook
The 3-2 loss was Rouen’s first defeat of the season. Before facing Caen, the club had held both the division’s best defensive record and its strongest attacking return.
Brouard insisted there would be no overreaction from his squad. He said the focus would simply turn to preparing the next fixture with the intention of winning it, while also acknowledging that the group needs time to recover.
“It is our first defeat of the season against a good team with real strengths,” he said. “It is not a disaster in itself. I am not waiting for a reaction from my players; we will prepare for the next match to win it. Nothing is being questioned.”
Brouard criticises FVS delays after dismissal
Sent off for dissent late in the match, Brouard renewed his criticism of the video-review system used in Ligue 3. His anger was directed not only at decisions involving Rouen but at what he sees as an inadequate standard of officiating for a competition carrying significant sporting and financial pressure.
He pointed to a review lasting seven minutes over a possible handball and suggested that match officials do not always share the same interpretation of incidents.
“I have spoken enough about VAR, or FVS in Ligue 3, and I will not add much more,” Brouard said. “When so much time is needed simply to validate goals, for an alleged handball… seven minutes to decide whether there was a handball or not.
“Sometimes the officials are not even in agreement among themselves. What are we supposed to do? I am not speaking only for my team, but for football and for Ligue 3. Some decisions can have very serious consequences.
“There is huge pressure around results, ambitions and objectives, for us, for Caen and for others. The level of professionalism has to match those demands. This is football; we are not here to play a six-a-side tournament.”
