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Lyon's Lucas Paquetá Booked For Attempted Rainbow Flick

Lyon's Lucas Paquetá Booked For Attempted Rainbow Flick

One of the strangest yellow cards of the season so far.

James Aldred

James Aldred

Lyon playmaker Lucas Paquetá received a yellow card last night for attempting a rainbow flick in a Ligue 1 match against Troyes.

Footage shows the 24 year old trying to beat an opponent with some audacious skill, only for referee Stéphanie Frappart to issue a booking.


Initially, it looked that the Troyes defender was the one who was going to get in trouble, with Paquetá and his Lyon teammates confident that the card was going to him for a potential handball. However, Frappart instead gave the card to the Brazilian international, without any explanation whatsoever.

"How can that be a yellow card?" one fan asked on Twitter.

"Why does this happen at least once a year in France?" another enquired. "Are the referees enemies of football? It happened to Neymar, Memphis and now with Lucas. I don't really get it."

"I don't know what's wrong with that," a fellow football fan tweeted. "Rainbow flick, nutmeg. Next you can't outrun a defender or score with your forehead."

PSG's Neymar, who has also felt the wrath of referees for showboating in the past, also commented on the incident, taking to Instagram to voice his frustration.

Image Credit- Neymar
Image Credit- Neymar

"This is a very sad scene," the Brazilian said. "Showing a yellow card for a dribble... a technical move is a solution. It doesn't matter where on the pitch it is performed or in what minute of the game. This happened to me last season. And this season it's Paquetá. Honestly, I don't understand the reasoning. The famous Jogo Bonito is finished. Enjoy it while you can."

However, whilst some are confident the booking was for Paquetá's silky skills, others believe Frappart issued the yellow card because of the attacking midfielder's refusal to listen to her.

Image Credit- PA Images
Image Credit- PA Images

"He was booked for repeatedly refusing to acknowledge the ref," @thelumpur tweeted. "That's what it looks like from the clip."

"The card has nothing to do with the rainbow flick," another argued.

"Not sure he was booked for a rainbow flick," @Better707 remarked. "More because he refused to come over."

Thankfully for Paquetá and his Lyon teammates, the yellow card made no difference to the outcome of the match. After falling behind on the stroke of half-time, the 7-time Ligue 1 champions responded with goals from Xherdan Shaqiri, Chelsea loanee Emerson Palmieri and Paquetá to win 3-1.

Image Credit- PA Images
Image Credit- PA Images

The win moves Peter Bosz's side into 7th place in the table, 10 points behind the leaders PSG.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Ligue 1, PSG, Neymar, Lyon, France