France bar 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Chapron then decided to show the player a second yellow card, although that one has now been rescinded, the French league told AFP, freeing him to play in their next game.
The referee apologised 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The FFF said its technical committee of referees had decided that Chapron be “withdrawn...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 that Chapron has been removed from refereeing duties for today’s Ligue 1 game between Angers and Troyes.
The FFF statement added that 45-yearold 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 apologised, 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.”