In one of the most bizarre incidents of the sporting year so far a French referee was up before the French Football Federation after trying to kick out at a player.
Tony Chapron, kicked Diego Carlos of Nantes in the latter stages of their match against Paris Saint-Germain on January 14th after taking a tumble when clipped accidentally by the Brazilian defender.
It was an incident that bore a similarity to when David Beckham kicked out against Diego Simeone in the 1998 World Cup. Take a look:
And for comparison:
Of course the major difference between the two events was that in Beckham's case the footballer was sent off whereas with Chapron, he had the gumption to send Carlos off for the innocuous coming together.
The 45-year-old was handed down a six month ban from refereeing from the French Football Federation, with three of those months suspended.
Chapron's explanation for the incident is perhaps the strangest thing about this case:
At the time of the collision, I felt a sharp pain where I had recently suffered an injury. My unfortunate reaction was to stick my leg out towards the player.
In the aftermath of the clash Chapron did request that Carlos' booking be rescinded, and described his reaction during the game as "clumsy" and "inappropriate". Weeks before the incident, Chapron had announced that he planned to retire from refereeing at the end of the current Ligue 1 season. It looks like he has his early retirement.
