- A French referee has claimed he was threatened and held captive after a match
- He alleges the ordeal at the hands of two players made him fearful for his life
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A young French referee admitted ‘I feared for my life’ after being threatened and held captive in his locker room by players unhappy with his officiating.
Simon, 19, who took charge of the under-17 match between Chaville and Boulogne-Billancourt on Sunday, filed a complaint with French police in which he claimed his attackers violently pushed him and prevented him from leaving the dressing room.
According to the official, two Boulogne-Billancourt players entered his locker room with their faces covered after disagreeing with the calls he made throughout the match. In his account, he also alleges that three other people attempted to film the incident.
‘I suspected that if they had their faces hidden, if they started to be violent with me and if they wanted to lock me in my locker room with them inside, it wasn’t to discuss it,’ the amateur official told French outlet Le Parisien.
‘They clearly wanted to beat me up. At that moment, I was afraid for my life.’
Simon describes how he capitalised on a window of inattention from his attackers and found refuge in a storage room where a steward and two players were washing kits. There, he called the police who arrested two minors.
A young French referee admitted ‘I feared for my life’ after being threatened and held captive in his locker room by players unhappy with his officiating
Simon, 19, who took charge of the under-17 match between Chaville and Boulogne-Billancourt on Sunday, filed a complaint with French police
According to the outlet, they were released an hour later, with the investigation still ongoing.
In a statement, Boulogne-Billancourt denounced ‘all forms of violence’ and confirmed that they have suspended the players involved in the incident.
‘These intolerable acts do not at all correspond to the club’s values,’ club president Ludovic Fortes said. ‘We have suspended the players concerned; a police investigation is underway, and if these acts are proven, they will be expelled.
‘The ACBB management will leave no room for violence and disrespect within the club.’
Simon added: ‘I’m going to ask the League to prevent these players from ever setting foot on a football pitch again, because this behavior, even at 17 years old, is unacceptable.
‘It also needs to make the French Football Federation react, and for things to be put in place. Every weekend and every year, we see an increasing number of assaults. And I tell myself that if I hadn’t run away, I could have died in that locker room.’
