On May 29, 2023, the Gacé stadium (Orne) hosts a high-stakes match. The local team must meet that of Briouze. As the minutes go by, the match becomes tense. Violence explodes when, at the very end of the match, one of the players from the visiting team gives the audience the middle finger. The match referee gives him a red card, synonymous with expulsion, and ends the game.
An outburst of aggression ensues. The author of the middle finger begins to strangle the young official, a minor. The latter manages to escape, when a second player from Briouze throws himself on him and pushes him in the back. The referee then decides to take refuge in the locker room.
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“I’m not going to see my son anymore”
It was the second attacker who was tried by the Argentan court on Tuesday November 12, 2024. “It took me two months before I started refereeing again,” testifies the victim who remains psychologically scarred. The young man was accompanied by his mother who witnessed the scene.
The defendant wishes to testify that he was the victim of racist words that came from the stands during the match. “From where I was, I didn’t hear any racist remarks, says the mother on the stand. Since that day, I no longer go to see my son. This action sticks in my head. I know that when you are young, you make mistakes. I forgive them. But we still wanted to go through to the end of the procedure to show that this action does not have to be repeated. »
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The football player, who was also well established professionally, was sentenced to a citizenship training course and to pay €400 to the victim in compensation for his moral damage.
