France suspends referee who kicked player

PARIS — The referee who kicked a player during a French Ligue 1 game and then sent him off has been suspended “until further notice”, the French Football Federation (FFF) said on Monday.

Tony Chapron kicked Diego Carlos of Nantes towards the end of Sunday’s match against Paris Saint-Germain after being knocked over when the pair collided in a bizarre incident.

Chapron then showed the player a second yellow card, although that has now been rescinded, the French league told AFP, freeing him to play in the team’s next game.

The referee apologized on Monday, saying Diego Carlos had bumped into him but that his own reaction had been “clumsy” and “inappropriate”.

The FFF said its technical committee of referees had decided that Chapron be “withdrawn until further notice”.

He will be called to appear before the French league’s disciplinary commission to explain himself.

The sanction means he has been removed from refereeing duties for Wednesday’s Ligue 1 match between Angers and Troyes.

The FFF statement added that 45-year-old Chapron — who recently took charge of a game in China — had reviewed video footage of the incident and “noted that his fall had been caused accidentally”.

Chapron apologized, saying in a statement to AFP on Monday: “The Nantes player, Diego Carlos, crashed into me.

“At the time of the collision, I felt a sharp pain where I had recently suffered an injury. My unfortunate reaction was to stick my leg out towards the player.”

Chapron and Diego Carlos were racing to catch up with a breakaway by PSG’s Kylian Mbappe as the game, which the visitor won 1-0, moved into stoppage time at Stade de la Beaujoire.

The referee appeared to cut across the Brazilian defender and contact was made, sending both to the floor.