Match official leads the French team on, it's thought (9)

I believe the answer is:

reflexion

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'match official leads the french team' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'on it's thought' is the wordplay.
'on' becomes 're' ('on' can be mean 'with reference to').
'it's thought' becomes 'flexion' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
're'+'flexion'='REFLEXION'

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app