Pierre Sage named the same 21-player squad for rc lens's Coupe de France semifinal against Toulouse, announcing on Monday after the league match that he would keep exactly the group he used in the Ligue 1 meeting from a few days earlier in the 30th round.
Pierre Sage keeps same 21
RC Lens published "Sélection identique à la dernière rencontre de @Ligue1." when posting the semifinal list, and that 21-player group again did not include Nidal Čelik.
Toulouse missing Gboho and McKenzie
Carlos Martinez Novell selected 20 players for Toulouse's semifinal and did so without Yann Gboho because of a suspension that followed his red card for a foul in the 15th minute at Bollaert, and without Mark McKenzie, who began a two-match ban after a red card received on 12 April.
DTA explains Gboho sending-off
La direction nationale de l’arbitrage wrote, "Le joueur toulousain intervient en retard, alors que le ballon a déjà été joué par son adversaire. La semelle vient directement heurter l’intérieur de la cheville du joueur lensois et met en danger l’intégrité physique de l’adversaire. L’intervention de l’assistance vidéo et l’exclusion sont donc justifiées, afin de requalifier le geste en faute grossière."
Keeping the identical 21 players gave Pierre Sage continuity: the same bench options and match-day pool that produced a 3-2 win at Bollaert now carried into a knockout tie where Toulouse must adapt without two regulars, and the coach must manage rotation and match-day choices with Nidal Čelik again unavailable.
