Referee withdrawn after appearing to kick out and send player off

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:

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“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 17th, 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.