Lens were beaten 9-1 at home by Como. It was the heaviest defeat for a French team in the Champions League. A defeat that made the daily L'Equipe headline: "Ridiculous". A brutal result. While the stadium had fallen silent, the Canal+ studio was filled with laughter. During the transition from live commentary of the match to studio discussions, the microphones had been accidentally left on. Laure Boulleau, a former PSG and French national team defender, said with a smile: "We had a good laugh anyway."
Next to her, journalist Bertrand Latour was celebrating his 500-euro win. He had bet that the match would see 9 or 10 goals. In the end, 10 were scored. They thought the microphones were off the air. But they weren't.
Bet discovered when microphones should have been turned off
The match had just ended. Como 9, Lens 1. A terrible blow. And the worst thing was that Lens had conceded all these goals on their own field. A result that no French team had ever experienced at home in the Champions League. In the studio they were preparing to close the broadcast. Olivier Dacourt, a former footballer, tried to lighten the mood with a joke: “We saw ten goals, not bad.” Boulleau turned to Latour and said: “Of course, he should buy you a drink.” The reference was to the betting slip.
At that moment, the journalist did not try to hide it: “I had bet on 9 and 10 goals. In total I will get 500 euros net.” He had bet about ten euros on Lens' defeat. In the end he won 500 euros.
The sentence that caused all the reaction
The bet sparked controversy, but Boulleau's comment made the situation even more serious. "We had a good laugh, anyway." Put this way, after a 9-1 defeat that embarrassed French football, this conversation captured off-air went viral. On one side were the commentators making jokes, and on the other a team that had just been destroyed in front of its fans and left the field in a huff.
It wasn't so much the sentence itself that caused outrage, but the timing and circumstances in which it was said. After such a heavy result, it's hard to say you're having fun. Even if you think you're no longer on TV. Dacourt further amplified the situation by including another guest in the conversation. He compared the 500 euros earned by Latour to the "half-hour salary" of Walid Regragui, the former coach of the Moroccan national team. Meanwhile, Latour let slip another sentence: "Ligue 1 is a cauldron."
Ne se sachant pas en direct L. boulleau et B. latour nous font "une balbir" sur le plateau du canal champions club. - LB : "on aura bien rigolé quand même" - BL content de son pari sportif : "j'ai mis 9 et 10 (buts)". Heureux d'avoir gagné 500 balles sur les malheureux lensois. https://t.co/ikNHfLDdQo
— Cpt Nico (@cptnico) November 4, 2026
Why the video became a big deal
The video was leaked to the public due to a director's error. During the commercials of the Canal Champions Club show, the microphones were left open. The people in the studio thought they were just talking to each other, but in reality the audience continued to listen. The problem wasn't just the jokes. It was two elements that came together.
The first was the tone of the conversation: laughing after a team had conceded nine goals at home was considered by Lens fans as disrespectful on an evening that was already very difficult for them.
The second element was the bet. Here the issue crosses over into the realm of ethics and professionalism: Latour is a journalist commentating on the match and was caught live celebrating a win from a bet he had placed on that very match. For many viewers, this is the most delicate aspect of the whole event. Silence in the hall. Complete embarrassment.
