It has become inseparable from Rugby. In training to correct positions, analyze the opponent’s flaws. In a match to judge the validity of a test, the relevance of a sanction: this Tuesday at the end of the afternoon, the video appeared in the correctional chamber of the Tarbes judicial court. This time to influence the destiny of a 20-year-old young adult.
Since 1h20, Philibert L, had been standing straight at the bar, he had to answer to an accusation of “voluntary violence followed by mutilation or permanent infirmity. »
It happened two years and three days earlier, on September 14, 2022 in Tarbes, during a UNSS sevens rugby tournament between three high schools in Occitanie. In the last minute of the last match, the outcome of which was no longer in doubt between Notre Dame de Garaison and St-Pierre de Tarbes, Philibert L, 18 years old at the time of the events, inflicted a terrible tackle on Mathias Dantin, 16 years old.
Terrible for the consequences: two dislocated and fractured cervicals, two arteries affected, the spinal cord too. When the injuries are listed, Mathias’ dad falters. “The feeling of having caught lightning,” Mathias will say.
Transferred by the Samu helicopter to Toulouse, he had to undergo two operations before being placed in an artificial coma until December 20. A tackle that turned a life upside down. An accident? That was the whole point of the trial. So the video was summoned. Three small clips, originally recorded by a friend of Mathias Dantin as part of an analysis of the game. The last images of the helmeted player standing. This time, Philibert L did not look away as he has done since the accident. “It’s very complicated to watch a match, even just to think about this sport. I don’t watch it anymore, I don’t really want to hear about it. It is a sport that has changed many lives. »
At the time, the man who swears he has never been injured in rugby saw the UNSS tournament as “a moment of brotherhood”. The BTS student, who had never had any dealings with the law, played two more matches after the tragedy before hanging up. Dismissed by the disciplinary committee, the one who played at the time in parallel with the seniors of RC Quint Fonsegrives (Regional 2) no longer had the heart for it.
The editorial team advises you
The editorial team advises you
“Snarling and dissipated”
He had dried his tears before the start of the trial after Mathias Dantin passed in front of him. At the helm, he got the better of emotion, clearly ready. But with a precarious memory. He remembers that he was captain that day, but not the behavior that witnesses attributed to him: “surly and dissipated”. No memory of having tackled late, nor of having inflicted a cathedral tackle.
In UNSS, contrary to what is in force at the federal level, it is forbidden to take off the supports of your opponent during a tackle. Philibert, who did not know it, evokes an uncontrolled gesture. The images loop in slow motion. Tackle without the ball? It’s likely. But how many seconds late? Cathedral tackle or clumsiness? The scene is unfortunately partly obscured by a professor. “There were tragic consequences that I regret every day. If I could have gone back, I would not have returned to the field. I can’t imagine anyone thinking it was intentional.”
Mathias Dantin has no doubts. He remembers that a month before this disastrous tackle, he had attended a tournament where he noticed Philibert L. “He was there to show his level, in these cases, we are more aggressive. » He has forgotten nothing about the tournament. From this last action either: he never lost consciousness.
Very high speed but clear voice, Mathias Dantin recounted this action and especially his life in the “body of an 18 year old person but with the capabilities of a 3 or 4 year old child. Without this 35,000 euro chair, without my companions, I am nobody. This situation was imposed on me. I need assistance 24 hours a day. I have a lot of medical problems, around fifteen pills a day, I’m incontinent.” He also told about everything he lost: his girlfriend, his dream of joining the army. “That’s not how we imagined our life, trying to survive every day. But dignity will not be taken away from me. »
“I see the scene every day, every night”
To rebuild himself, he found a cause to defend: “prevention: showing that disrespect and certain gestures have no place on the pitch. It’s not an accident. All I want is for people to recognize their wrongdoing. » And by definition his victim status. That of his parents too. Present on the day of the tragedy, Jérôme Dantin recounted a tournament without any organization – which was strangely hidden – and portrayed Philibert L as “a free electron that no one was able to control (…). I see the scene every day, every night. I don’t need video. »
He recounted their turned upside down lives and especially the guilt that gnaws at him. “17 years ago, we wanted to give our son a chance by adopting him. For 13 years, we were unable to have children. Then we lived fifteen years of happiness. When that day came: we said we were the worst parents. » Mathias’ mother, after crying a lot, also got up. “We were not able to take care of him as desired. I didn’t want him to play rugby, I had a feeling. But I gave in. I haven’t slept for two years. »
And their relationship falters. “We love each other but we no longer have a life as a couple,” says Jérôme. “My wife’s name is Mathias, I am Mathias, I am his arms, his legs, his energy. I live for him. I want my son to be someone. This life was inflicted on us. I want to show that it is possible to continue living. »
The challenge of the trial is also to establish compensation so that this can be done as best as possible. The qualification of voluntary violence is the only way out for their lawyer, Hélène Simon-Grassa. “This situation has nothing to do with fate or clumsiness, it is an act committed in full conscience. Everything changed because someone did not respect the rules of the game. There are prohibitions to preserve the physical integrity of the players. » In court: “Your role is to recall these prohibitions. To do educational work so that what Mathias experienced never happens again. »
The requisitions of the representative of the public prosecutor, Jean-Luc Puyo, first to go into the field of rugby values, go in this direction: 18 months of imprisonment accompanied by suspension without entry in the criminal record. “He made a forbidden gesture, extremely serious, voluntary, deliberate. » Pascal Nakache, Philibert’s lawyer, then also became a rugby lawyer. “We are killing this sport. Either we continue all the cathedral tackles and you can create a special room, or you leave a part to reason. Suffering and compassion won out. It is justice that I ask for. » And a reclassification as “unintentional violence. » He looked at the Dantin clan: “you are victims. Not sure you would be any less so if we committed an injustice on Mr. L.”
Then, two years, three days and almost five hours of hearing later, Philibert L. finally apologized.
Decision on February 18.
