It was an amateur match at stake, with a place in district D1 at stake. The meeting ultimately only lasted an hour.
A U14 football match changed in the 60th minute, Saturday afternoon, in Nice-Est. A fight broke out, the field was invaded and blows were struck, amid great confusion.
“It was very violent, especially with children in the middle”testifies an educator from the Levens Falicon Youth and Women's Group. He assures him that he is “intervened to separate the actors. Not to go and hit”.
Saturday at 4 p.m., his club comes to face the Entente Saint-Sylvestre Nice-Nord (ESSNN), during a U14 brewing match. Heading for the Babkin-Hairabedian stadium, in the Lauvette valley.
Problem: the scheduled referee did not come. And the Côte d'Azur District no longer has time to send a replacement.
The choice of the referee is therefore a coin toss. New Year’s Eve is designated. A young leader takes the whistle. The game is disputed, ESSNN leads 1-0 when an altercation breaks out between the designated referee and an educator from the visiting club.
“He couldn’t contain himself”
“There was intensity on the pitch, like a football match, and an overwhelmed referee, believes the Levensois witness. At one point, he couldn't contain himself. He punched one of our educators in the middle of the match.”
The president of the ESSNN, Christian Tebbakha, confirms that the referee struck a blow. But it provides a significantly different perspective.
“The designated referee was insulted during almost the entire match by the parents and educators of Levens. Following a foul that was not whistled, the educator rushed against the referee. In a movement of self-defense, the blow was party.”
Whatever the origin of the brawl, the affair degenerated. The land was invaded, particularly by parents. “We had two mothers of children injured, testifies the Levens-Falicon educator. They were punched by an individual from Saint-Sylvestre. From there, we called law enforcement.”
“The parents were scared”
According to this educator, around twenty people burst onto the lawn. Particularly for “bring the little ones into the locker room”.
Selon Christian Tebbakha, “Parents from Levens returned to the field to hit children on New Year's Eve. And their parents returned to protect their children. They were afraid. The parents are there to come and see their children, not to take hits!”
The scuffle lasted a few moments. When the intervention company arrived, calm had returned and the belligerents had dispersed.
According to the national police, the referee fled by car. The local judicial police service (SLPJ) is responsible for the investigation.
Two mothers from Levens-Falicon planned to file a complaint. One of them would have trauma to the ear, the other bruises. According to its educator, the visiting club plans to open “a psychological help unit, so as not to leave out those who need it. Our children are very shocked. And it remains a village club…”
Sanctions in sight
On the New Year's Eve side, the time of reckoning has come. Christian Tebbakha assures: “All the light will be shed. As soon as responsibilities are proven, sanctions will be taken internally.”
The manager designated as arbitrator, aged 21, has already been notified of his exclusion. “But he won't be the only one, if others have slapped him. We must have a correct image!”
The two clubs criticize the recurring insecurity around a stadium “open to all winds”. Beyond that, this affair reflects a new intrusion of violence into amateur football.
Several incidents have dominated the news over the past year on the Côte d'Azur. On January 21, a horde of armed individuals burst into a match between CASE and Etoile de Menton… at the Hairabedian stadium.
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