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Football

French referee suspended for kicking player

The French Football Federation (FFF) suspended Tony Chapron until further notice on Monday following a bizarre incident in which the referee appeared to kick a player during a match in the Ligue 1.

French referee Tony Chapron hands Nantes defender Diego Carlos a red card after kicking him following an accidential collision during the team's Ligue 1 match against Paris Saint-Germain on 14 January 2018.
French referee Tony Chapron hands Nantes defender Diego Carlos a red card after kicking him following an accidential collision during the team's Ligue 1 match against Paris Saint-Germain on 14 January 2018. Reuters/Stéphane Mahé
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Nantes defender Diego Carlos accidently collided with Chapron as they raced to catch up with a breakaway by Kylian Mbappe during the last three minutes of Sunday’s match against Paris Saint-Germain.

Chapron fell to the ground and then appeared to kick Diego Carlos, who looked down at the referee with a bewildered shrug.

The 45-year-old then handed the 24-year-old Brazilian a red card and sent him off for the remainder of the game.

He also awarded PSG a free-kick.

Nantes president Waldemar Kita, who initially laughed at the incident, called for Chapron to be suspended for six months, and the club called for the league’s disciplinary commission to clear Diego Carlos of fault.

Diego Carlos has since has the second yellow card rescinded after the FFF concluded the collision and fall were accidental.

Chapron apologised in a statement reading “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.”

The referee will be called to appear before the disciplinary commission at a later date.

Chapron has been refereeing in France’s top league since 2004 and has officiated in more than 400 matches.

The incident overshadowed PSG’s 1-0 win over Nantes, which put them 11 points clear of title holders Monaco.

The defenders have the chance to close the gap to eight points when they host Nice on Tuesday.

 

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