“Should referees exercise their right of withdrawal? »… Le Safe denounces the violence in Bastia

The elite referees’ union (Safe) sounds the alert after an assistant referee was targeted by projectiles during the last match between Bastia and Lorient, Saturday, in Ligue 2. The match had been interrupted before to come to an end, which the union does not necessarily congratulate. “Lighters, food, drinks, insults… on a referee. A situation of total insecurity which did not prevent us from going to the end of the match. What an example! » protested the union in a press release.

While the score was 0 to 0 and the Bastiais had the ball, the referee stopped the game and sent the players back to the locker room after his linesman told him that they had been the target of projectiles, in particular “lighters , food and drinks,” according to images and information from broadcaster BeIN Sport.

This incident occurred a few minutes after the direct exclusion of Bastiais Jocelyn Janneh, author of an uncontrolled tackle on Lorientais Julien Ponceau (32nd).

Last season, racist insults against an official

This is not a first in Bastia. As recalled in the Safe press release, an official was targeted by racist insults during the Bastia-Quevilly match last season, which at the time led to the withdrawal of a point for the Corsican club.

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“How far will we have to go to understand the stupidity and danger of such actions that we allow to take place? One day it will be too late, and we will blame ourselves. Or should referees take their responsibilities and exercise their right of withdrawal in the absence of guarantees regarding their safety? The stand in question represents a danger and not only for the referees. »