The referee who showed a red card to Nice striker Mario Balotelli has been praised for helping to get the decision reversed.
Shortly after scoring what proved to be an 86th-minute winner during Nice's 2-1 victory over Lorient last Sunday, Balotelli, 26, was shown a second yellow card by Olivier Thual for appearing to butt heads with Steven Moreira. Both men were cautioned in the incident, but replays showed no contact had been made.
However, after Thual had formally admitted he had made an error in cautioning the players, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) disciplinary commission overturned Balotelli's red card in its session on Thursday.
"It's not easy to acknowledge your mistakes. Mr Thual did that," Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere told the club's official website. "That makes a man grow, and makes refereeing grow. It's a very professional attitude that allows football to go in the right direction."
Balotelli, who has scored five times in three Ligue 1 games, will now be available for Nice's encounter with Lyon when domestic football resumes after the international break.
A delighted Rivere, who was instrumental in Balotelli's deadline day arrival from Liverpool, revealed he called Thual in person to congratulate him on the courage he had shown in admitting he had been wrong.
"Yes, I had the chance to call him simply to say that he behaved like a true professional and that it was a very good attitude that he had shown," he is quoted as saying by RMC. "I wanted to tell him. We can criticise referees, and they often are criticised, but when things are positive, we mustn't hesitate to say that either."