A female referee suffered a concussion when she was knocked to the ground while trying to break up a melee between male players during a friendly club football match in France.

Referee Mathilde Demoncay was officiating a friendly match between French club Metz and Dutch club Fortuna Sittard on Saturday at Schlossberg Stadium in Forbach, eastern France, according to local media reports.

Tension flared in the 40th minute when two opposing players confronted each other after a shirt-tugging incident. Other players rushed to join the confrontation. Demoncay ended up on the ground after attempting to intervene, falling heavily after being knocked in the melee, video on social media showed.

The fight happened in front of a large sign reading: “Respect the referee.” The 26-year-old referee remained on the turf for several minutes, holding her arm, while assistant referees, security personnel and medical staff ran onto the pitch to restore order and assess her condition.

Demoncay resumed as the assistant referee after play restarted but left the field at half-time, with another assistant taking over her duties. Fortuna Sittard, who lost the game 3-1, described the episode as a “remarkable moment” but did not comment further. Metz had no report of the incident on their website.

Source: www.aljazeera.com