The football tournament turned into a tragedy. A 15-year-old Berlin teenager, seriously injured by an FC Metz player during a general fight during an international tournament organized in Frankfurt, in the west of Germany, died “as a result of his serious injuries to the brain” this Wednesday according to the German police.
What exactly happened?
FC Metz and JFC Berlin were playing in the semi-finals of the Germany Cup, an international tournament which hosted teams from 16 different countries, most of them European. At the final whistle, while the Berlin team beat the Grenats by the narrowest of margins (1-0), a fight between several players broke out, without it being known for the moment what triggered this situation. .
According to the Frankfurt prosecutor’s office, an FC Metz player started boxing a first Berliner in the face before attacking Paul, the young teenager who died, first with a strangulation key and blows to the abdomen. . At the end of the fight which involved several players, the JFC Berlin player had collapsed on the ground.
Emergency services arrived on the scene a few minutes later. Transferred to the hospital, the young player was “maintained artificially alive so that he could donate his organs”, said the spokesperson for the prosecution Nadja Niesen. “In order to clarify the circumstances of (the death of the young German), an autopsy will be performed in the coming days,” she added.
What are the witnesses saying?
Without additional information provided by the prosecution, some witnesses at the scene have already given their testimonies in the media. According to the father of an FC Metz player, the atmosphere between the players “was very tense” even the day before the match, as he explained to Est Républicain.
According to him, the young Messin implicated – “a young man who has never been talked about” – was surrounded by “five or six” opponents when leaving the field, his teammates then “came to the rescue” . “Who did what in this melee? Difficult to say as things went quickly. Everyone returned to their bench except for one player who remained lying on the lawn, ”said the father of the family who was heard by the German police.
For his part, an educator from the Moselle team of SO Merlebach reported to BFMTV that the altercation had “come out of nowhere”: “We, what we saw, were screams and young people who are grouped in the middle of the field. After the coaches separated everyone, “they realized that there was a young man who remained on the ground and who was no longer moving”.
“Once the firefighters arrived, they started putting up blankets so we couldn’t see what was going on. But the first gestures of cardiac massage, we have seen them. At first, the young people did not understand what was going on. They wondered why he didn’t get up. This shocks everyone a bit, ”lamented Grégory Nimeskern.
Who is suspected?
The young player in question is 16 years old and evolves within the FC Metz Performance Program, a structure integrated into the 2nd division club, and which allows “young footballers or educators from all over the world to be able to access a structure high-level training.
The club has not yet specified the nationality of the incriminated player, but specified, in a press release, that the young man was “heard by the German authorities and denies having deliberately damaged the physical integrity of the young player. hurt “.
Without a home in Germany, the Frankfurt prosecutor’s office considered that there was a risk of the young Garnet fleeing. He is therefore still in pre-trial detention for “assaults and injuries resulting in death” during the investigation. “It is currently not possible to say how long the accused will remain in detention,” said Frankfurt’s chief prosecutor, Nadja Niesen, on Wednesday morning. The police have launched an appeal to obtain the videos allegedly taken which could help to reconstruct the facts, and to definitively identify the player.
What is the reaction of the clubs?
Having already communicated on the incident, FC Metz reacted again after the announcement of the death of the young opposing player. “The whole of FC Metz is deeply shocked by this tragedy and sends its most sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the young player”, regretted the Lorraine club.
“The garnet club would like to remind you once again that FC Metz Performance Program, as well as all the players and parents present, are obviously at the disposal of the German authorities to help advance the investigation,” added the club, which is playing the rise in Ligue 1 on the last day;
The Berlin center, where Paul, the 15-year-old German, was fired, said he would not comment publicly, “for privacy reasons”. The German Football Federation said it was “dismayed” by drama. Vice-president Ronny Zimmermann recalled that preventing violence was no longer enough in football: “We also have to deal with a social problem. »
