Refereeing: Mehdi Rahmouni, a Nîmes player on the sidelines at Euro-2024 in Germany

Mehdi Rahmouni pose avec le trophée de champion d’Europe. M.R.

Assistant referee to François Letexier, the Nîmes native will officiate this Wednesday, during Croatia – Albania. A first in a European Championship for the French trio.

Last Tuesday April 9, during the pre-match protocol, Nîmes Mehdi Rahmouni shook hands with Dani Carvajal and Ruben Dias, captains of Real Madrid and Manchester City. Just that! It was in the legendary Santiago-Bernabeu stadium. And it’was also ''a waking dream'' that lived, on the occasion of this quarter-final first leg of the Champions League, the one who is assistant referee 2 of François Letexier.
''For fun, with François and Cyril (Mugnier, assistant 1), we said to ourselves that it’was a PlayStation match, he remembers, on the phone, from Frankfurt (Germany), base camp for referees during the Euro. These are teams which have already won this event. It is also for these kinds of matches that we train, that we try to perform, for the adrenaline of these matches with crazy intensity for ninety minutes.''

Sandryk Biton, his former trainer at the League: ''He's brilliant''

A meeting between the best in the world, a sort of Holy Grail in the profession. The job of assistant referee, the Bastiais by birth, 35 years old, married him in 2017, a year before becoming an international: ''I train twice a day, at Marcel-Rouvière or at Bois des Espeisses. Thanks to the city of Nîmes for its help. It's a lot of work. Between the gatherings, the matches during the week, the weekends, the training courses at Fifa, at UEFA……''

A life that he was far from imagining when at 6 years old, he signed his first license at SC Manduel (Gard), the village where he grew up. ''I made a choice between player and referee and I started refereeing in 2005, in the Gard-Lozère district. A year later, I moved up to the League. It’s Sandryk Biton (former L1 referee) who was responsible for the training and detection of referees. Sandryk, I owe him a lot in my career.''

Promoted to FFF in 2013

''Abdelatif (Kherradji, central promoted to L1 in 2024-2025) and Mehdi, they are my “little”, notes, with affection, the former technical director of arbitration in Languedoc-Roussillon.Mehdi, I discovered him when he was 20 years old during a match at Canet, where he was an assistant. I immediately saw that he had predispositions. He was very intelligent very quickly, he understood everything. You gave him advice, he followed it to the letter. He's brilliant. And he was lucky enough to meet a guy called François Letexier who allowed him to get where he is.''
That day in August 2014 when everything changed for Nîmois, promoted to FFF in 2013: ''I started in National with François in Istres. We had been observed, we had a great match.'' The time of two accessions (in L2 in 2016; in L1 in January 2017) and he finds his sidekick : ''We then get back together as a team and close the trio with Cyril.&# 39;'

Large gap between Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie and Santiago-Bernabeu

Winner in L1 (Letexier elected N.1), placed in Elite internationally and on track, this Wednesday in Hamburg, in Croatia – Albania, for its first Euro (see elsewhere). ''The work always bears fruit, testifies Mehdi Rahmouni. It’s always a pride and an honor for me to go out into the field and tell myself that I come from the Gard-Lozère district, rue Séguier, in Nîmes. I find myself in Madrid, London. That I refereed at Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, where it was to have fun with friends, and that there, it’s Santiago-Bernabeu!& #39;' Where he also shook hands with Ancelotti and Guardiola…

After the Euro, he will continue with the Games

JO –Gathered since June 10 Frankfurt, their base camp, the nineteen trios of referees, including two French – a first è the Euro – with that of Clément Turpin who officiated; on the opening match between Germany and Scotland, are committed to playing well. daily training. High-tech sessions. ''An exercise consists of: go shopping à high intensity and, arrived At the end of the field, an action appears on a giant screen and we must immediately define the situation, before debriefing it. ;#39;, says Mehdi Rahmouni, in the running, this Wednesday, on Croatia – Albania. In July, it will be à Paris that the trio will officiate: ''We are the only French team selected. This is a great opportunity. unique to be able to hold the Olympics in our country. We are very happy, we are going to have a great summer. rich in emotions and sport.''

I subscribe to read more