Female referee concussed after being knocked over during Metz-Fortuna Sittard friendly brawl
Mathilde Demoncay, 26, was struck and fell heavily while trying to separate players during a pre-season match in Forbach, eastern France, and was forced off at half-time with a concussion.
A pre-season friendly between French Ligue 2 side FC Metz and Dutch Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard was marred by a mass confrontation that left the referee requiring medical attention and unable to continue after the break.
What happened on the pitch
The match was being played on Saturday at the Schlossberg Stadium in Forbach, eastern France. Tensions boiled over around the 40th minute after a shirt-tugging incident escalated into a wider melee involving multiple players. Video footage circulated on social media shows Mathilde Demoncay, the 26-year-old French official in charge of the fixture, stepping into the scrum to restore order. She was struck and knocked to the ground, hitting her head as she fell near an advertising board bearing the message "Respect the referee".
A Moselle TV commentator covering the game live reacted with alarm, saying, in a translation of the broadcast, that the officials needed to stop the fighting and that the referee had been hurt.
Injury and match resumption
Demoncay remained on the turf for several minutes, clutching her arm while assistant referees, security personnel, and medical staff attended to her. She appeared dazed but initially resumed duties as an assistant referee after play restarted. The effort proved short-lived. By half-time she was unable to continue, and reports from multiple outlets, including the Daily Mail and ESPN, said she had sustained a mild concussion. One of the original assistant referees took over the whistle for the second half. According to ESPN, a spectator who is an amateur referee stepped in as a linesman for the remainder of the game.
- Shirt-tugging escalates into a mass confrontation; referee Mathilde Demoncay is knocked to the ground and hits her head.
- Demoncay resumes duties as an assistant referee while play continues.
- Demoncay is forced to leave the match with a concussion; an original assistant takes over as referee.
- Metz win 3-1. Two yellow cards are shown to players involved in the brawl.
Disciplinary action and final score
Two yellow cards were shown to players involved in the fracas. Metz were leading 1-0 when the fight broke out and went on to win the match 3-1.
Reactions from the clubs
Fortuna Sittard referred to the episode as a "remarkable moment" in their match report but declined to offer further comment. FC Metz made no mention of the incident on their website. The images of Demoncay being treated on the pitch directly beneath the "Respect the referee" signage drew widespread attention after clips spread across social media platforms.
