Introduced this season by the LNR and the FFR, the orange card is not unanimous. Now in charge of the high performance refereeing unit, Mathieu Raynal said he was not convinced by this new provision.
This is one of the notable new features of the 2025-2026 season. Generalized by World Rugby last summer, the 20-minute red card has become an orange card in Top 14 and Pro D2. During an interview given to the specialized magazine Olympic Midday, former international referee Mathieu Raynal confirmed that this choice was made “for greater readability. He adds that “having a 20-minute red and a permanent red, for people at the stadium, it was complicated to tell the difference”. While the French Rugby Federation (FFR) and the National Rugby League (LNR) were on the rise like other federations around the world, this new rule is not unanimous.
It has been used sparingly by referees since the start of the season.that is to say six times in Top 14 matches and twelve times in Pro D2. A subject on which Mathieu Raynal spoke quite directly, confiding that “ the orange card is very complicated » before specifying that it was “imposed by World Rugby” while the experiments carried out upstream had not necessarily given a satisfactory result. “
Personally, I do not see the added value that this orange card brings, except to resolve very unique situations », adds the man who is now at the head of the high performance refereeing unit launched by the FFR and the LNR.
A review planned for March
Admitting that there is always reluctance, questions and sometimes engaged debates » when a new rule is put in place and even more so when it is so fundamental, the former international referee calls for patience for a few more weeks before taking stock of the situation. “ We will take this assessment in March in Paris, with the DTN, the League, the referees and all the coaches “, he concluded. But it seems impossible to see it disappear, with World Rugby president Brett Robinson having said last May that he was in favor of this new rule which, in his eyes, “punishes the individual, not the whole team or the spectacle”.
