Latest: Referee apologises after kicking player and then sending him off

Latest: Nantes defender Diego Carlos' sending-off against Paris St Germain has been overturned after referee Tony Chapron apologised for the controversial end to the game.

Latest: Referee apologises after kicking player and then sending him off

Update 5.26pm: Nantes defender Diego Carlos' sending-off against Paris St Germain has been overturned after referee Tony Chapron apologised for the controversial end to the game.

Late in Nantes' 1-0 loss on Sunday, Chapron, having been knocked to the ground in an accidental collision with the Nantes defender, kicked out at Carlos before showing him a second yellow card.

The referee has been stood down from duty "until further notice", starting from his scheduled assignment for Wednesday's Ligue 1 match between Angers and Troyes, and will face a disciplinary hearing with the French football league (LFP).

But Carlos will be clear to play against Toulouse the same evening after the second booking was rescinded by the LFP on Chapron's advice.

An LFP statement on Monday afternoon read: "The LFP disciplinary commission received early this afternoon Tony Chapron's report concerning the match between FC Nantes and Paris St Germain.

"After reading the report, in which Tony Chapron confirmed having reviewed the incident that Diego Carlos did not intentionally make contact with him, the commission decided to overturn the second yellow card shown to the player.

"As a result, Diego Carlos is available to line up against Toulouse on Wednesday."

That at least will please Nantes, who said in a statement earlier on Monday on their website: "FC Nantes has asked the LFP disciplinary commission to immediately annul the second booking for Diego Carlos so that he can play in the next league game this Wednesday, January 17."

The LFP added that Chapron's case will be studied in a meeting of the commission this Thursday.

In a statement released to French news agency AFP, Chapron wrote: "During the Nantes-PSG match I was barged by Nantes player Diego Carlos.

"As a result of the impact I felt a sharp pain from a recent injury. I reacted badly by moving my leg towards the player.

"I have sent a report to the (LFP) disciplinary commission so that the (second) booking received by the player can be withdrawn, because having seen the images his action did not seem deliberate."

Pascal Garibian, the French Football Federation's technical director for referees, criticised Chapron's "loss of control" in the incident.

"His action was unacceptable," Garibian told L'Equipe. "I will not say more than that, it is for the LFP disciplinary commission to decide on.

"It was a bad reaction. He lost control of his emotions in the context of the fall.

"As a provisional measure, he will not be available to take charge of matches until the end of the (disciplinary) process."

The incident overshadowed a match which was settled in PSG's favour by Angel Di Maria's 12th-minute goal.

Angry Nantes president Waldemar Kita told L'Equipe after the match: "It's a gag.

"I got 20 text messages from all over the world telling me the referee was a joke.

"What do you want me to say? If I talk too much I will be called before the disciplinary commission. We don't have the right to say anything.

"It's scandalous to see that. He gives a red card to a player who did nothing. He needs to go back to school. It's amateurish.

"I've never seen anything like it. He needs to be suspended for six months. If we did it, we would be banned for six months."

Update 11.53am: Referee Tony Chapron has been stood down from this week's Ligue 1 match between Angers and Troyes and will face a disciplinary hearing over the controversial end to Sunday's game between Nantes and Paris St Germain.

The match, won 1-0 by PSG, ended in bizarre circumstances when Chapron, having been knocked to the ground in an accidental collision with Diego Carlos, appeared to kick out at the Nantes defender before showing him a second yellow card.

Nantes president Waldemar Kita called for Chapron to be banned for six months and several players also demanded sanctions, and the French Football Federation announced on Monday that it would take action.

A statement on fff.fr read: "Following the incident late in the Nantes-Paris SG match, involving referee Mr Tony Chapron and Nantes player Mr Diego Carlos, the technical body for referees (DTA) and the federal commission of referees have taken the following decisions:

"The withdrawal from duty of Mr Tony Chapron, initially appointed to referee the Angers SCO-ESTAC Troyes match in matchday 21 of Ligue 1 on Wednesday January 17, until further notice.

"Mr Tony Chapron will shortly be called to meet the LFP (French football league) disciplinary committee.

"Mr Tony Chapron, after reviewing the images, stated that his fall was caused accidentally. He has informed the DTA that he has prepared a report to this effect for the LFP disciplinary commission."

Nantes manager Claudio Ranieri avoided addressing the issue in his post-match press conference but his players were not so reticent - and neither was Kita.

The latter told L'Equipe: "It's a gag. I got 20 text messages from all over the world telling me the referee was a joke.

"What do you want me to say? If I talk too much I will be called before the disciplinary commission. We don't have the right to say anything.

"It's scandalous to see that. He gives a red card to a player who did nothing. He needs to go back to school. It's amateurish.

"I've never seen anything like it. He needs to be suspended for six months. If we did it, we would be banned for six months."

The incident overshadowed a match which was settled in PSG's favour by Angel Di Maria's 12th-minute goal.

Original story (11.05am): Nantes president Waldemar Kita has called for Tony Chapron to be banned for six months after the referee lashed out at Diego Carlos during Sunday’s clash with Paris St Germain.

The official aimed a kick at the Nantes defender while on the floor after the pair accidentally collided in injury time at the Stade de la Beaujoire.

Carlos was shown a second yellow card, apparently for dissent, and the hosts were left baffled by the incident.

 

"I received 20 SMS from all over the world telling me that this referee is a joke," Kita told L’Equipe.

"What do you want me to say to you? If I talk too much, I will be summoned by an ethics commission. We have no right to say anything.

"It’s still scandalous to see that. We give a red card to a player who did nothing. Where are we? He has to go back to school.

"Chapron has to rest and get a massage, it works like that now, we cannot see him. I’m waiting for the green light, otherwise I’ll be killed. It’s amateurism.

"Sincerely, I think he did not do it on purpose. I do not want to believe he did it on purpose.

"At least, you apologise but you do not give a red card, it’s not serious.

"We still have to find a solution, because there is a problem in all this.

"It makes me laugh at the end. I have never seen that before.

"He should be suspended for six months. If we did it, we would be banned for six months."

The bizarre exchange overshadowed a seventh straight win in all competitions for PSG, Angel Di Maria’s early goal enough to move them 11 points clear at the top of Ligue 1.

"When a team fights each ball for 90 minutes and fights every action to counter the opponent, I think the team has demonstrated today that we can win a match like that too, in difficulty, in suffering," PSG boss Unai Emery was quoted as saying by AFP.

"It was different from a lot of matches. It’s a tough team that put a lot of pressure on us and the team kept their position to keep the ball with a lot of personality.

"In the first half, our control was clearer, with the goal and two good chances.

"But it’s true that in the second half, they pushed more and it was harder for us to overcome that pressure. But I think the win is deserved."

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