In an exclusive interview with Winamax, Stade de Reims manager Will Still has said that he simulated a poor refereeing display in order to help his players prepare for last season’s Ligue 1 encounter against Paris Saint-Germain.
Reims go into Round 12 in fourth place in Ligue 1. Still’s side have an impressive record of six wins, two draws and three losses, and are undefeated since 7th October (3-1 against AS Monaco). However, the Reims manager is can expect a difficult encounter at the Parc des Princes. Their opponents, PSG, are unbeaten in Ligue 1 since a 3-2 loss against OGC Nice on 15th September.
In an interview at the end of last season, Still revealed that he tried to replicate adverse conditions in training the week before the encounter, which ended in a 1-1 draw, notably mimicking a poor refereeing performance. “Before PSG, I took a training session where we were bad referees on purpose because when you go to the Parc, the match is difficult because of the opponent and you know that because of the supporters, because of the atmosphere, certain decisions won’t go your way,” Still told Winamax.
He added, “In the session, I created the atmosphere that I wanted to create by annoying the players to the extent that they got p**sed off with the referees, and the referees in the session were us. I told them that I knew we were rubbish as referees and we were doing it on purpose, but if you think the environment will be different on Sunday at the Parc des Princes, you won’t be happy.” Les Stadistes face Les Parisiens at the Parc des Princes once again on Saturday.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
