Nantes defender, Diego Carlos was sent off for accidentally tripping up referee Tony Chapron
French referee Tony Chapron has apologised after kicking out at Nantes defender, Diego Carlos and sending him off for a second bookable offence after accidentally being tripped, Dailymail UK reports.
Carlos was already on a yellow card when Paris Saint-Germain counter-attacked and the Brazilian inadvertently collided with the referee as he tracked back. After he hit the ground, Chapron kicked out and then issued Carlos a second yellow, followed by a red.
‘During the match Nantes-PSG I was knocked over by Diego Carlos, a player with Nantes. At the moment of impact I felt a sharp pain where I had recently suffered an injury,’ Chapron said on Monday.
‘My unfortunate reaction was to stick my leg out towards the player. This clumsy gesture was inappropriate. So I want to apologise following this action.’
Earlier on Monday, Chapron was suspended by the French football federation ‘until further notice’ for his actions.
According to the FFF, Chapron acknowledged that Carlos inadvertently knocked him over and will provide further details in a report to be submitted to the French league’s disciplinary committee.
Nantes president, Waldemar Kita called for Chapron to be banned for six months after the match. ‘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.
‘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.
‘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.’
PSG won the game 1-0 thanks to a goal from Angel Di Maria.