WATCH: VAR under fire as Nigeria and Lens star escapes red card for jaw-breaking kick in France

The French refereeing body is under scrutiny after RC Lens midfielder Hamzat Ojediran avoided a red card despite a dangerous, high-footed challenge during his side’s narrow 1-0 win over Saint-Étienne on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Nigerian midfielder, 21, came on as a late substitute in the 86th minute but almost immediately made headlines for the wrong reasons.

Just moments after entering the pitch, Ojediran lunged into a reckless challenge, raising his boot at an alarming height and catching Saint-Étienne forward Ibrahima Wadji in the face.

Referee Romain Lissorgue, despite reviewing the incident with the help of VAR officials Julien Haulbert and Ludovic Reyes, stuck with his initial decision to issue only a yellow card.

His justification was that Ojediran made contact with the ball before striking the player. However, the Ligue 1 refereeing department has since disagreed with the outcome as per Lensois, describing the incident as “clearly erroneous.”

OFFICIEL

LA DIRECTION TECHNIQUE DE L'ARBITRAGE RECONNAÎT QUE L'ARBITRE DE RC LENS-ASSE AURAIT DÛ EXPULSER H.OJEDIRAN POUR CE GESTE !@lequipe#Ligue1 pic.twitter.com/A9iKXXCj9b

— Météo Foot Maps Infos & Stats (@MeteoFootMaps) April 9, 2025

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In its official debrief, the refereeing panel stated:

“The gesture of Lens player number 15 was executed in an uncontrolled manner, at an inconsiderate height in close proximity to the opponent's head, with direct contact of the sole to the face. This endangered the physical integrity of the opponent. A pitchside VAR review was expected in this situation in order to issue a red card for serious foul play.”

Lens manager Will Still had previously warned about Ojediran’s disciplinary record, commenting in a press conference two days before the game that the midfielder's aggression needed to be “channelled” if he was to play more regularly. Those concerns were validated when Ojediran was booked within one minute of coming on.

The Nigeria midfielder, who joined Lens from Hungarian side Debreceni VSC for a fee between €1.3m and €1.5m last August, has earned a reputation for physicality and aggression.

In Albania, during a brief stint with Egnatia Rrogozhinë, he received four yellow cards in just 11 appearances. That pattern has continued in France, where he has now collected five bookings in only 15 Ligue 1 games – all but one from the bench – and played just 368 minutes this season.

Great catch up with Hamzat Ojediran in Lens this weekend.

A super eagle in the near future. pic.twitter.com/FWyAcfnVH1

— Ohi Longe (@OhiLonge) April 7, 2025

Despite flashes of promise, including his only goal of the campaign in a 3-2 win over Nantes in November, Ojediran has struggled for consistent game time under Still.

With his disciplinary issues now under even greater scrutiny, Lens may be open to offers for the midfielder in the summer transfer window.

RC Lens host Reims in their next Ligue 1 fixture on April 11, with Ojediran not expected to make the team’s starting lineup.