Tony Chapron is not like most referees.
Most referees don’t kick players. Most referees don’t send players off for an accidental trip. And most referees tend to hand over the match ball to hat-trick scorers.
Chapron lives by his own rules and he’s come in for heavy criticism for an incident with Nantes players Diego Carlos.
As both Chapron and Carlos ran to keep up with play on Sunday night, an accidental tangling of legs sent the official to the ground and, in unprecedented circumstances, Chapron lashed out.
The ref clearly kicked out at Carlos with his right leg before sending him off with a second yellow card.
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Referee Tony Chapron kicks out at Diego Carlos and then sends him off in a moment of madness in Ligue 1… 😱 pic.twitter.com/F1Ou6wt8QN
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2018
Chapron has since apologised for his behaviour.
“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.”
The referee has since been suspended “until further notice” ahead of a disciplinary hearing with the French football league, while Carlos’ red card has been overturned.
It’s not the first time that Chapron has been embroiled in an aggressive exchange with a player.
Back in 2015, you might remember Chapron as the brave referee who refused to give Zlatan Ibrahimovic the match ball after the forward, then at Paris Saint-Germain, scored a hat-trick in PSG’s 3-1 victory over Lorient.
Referee Tony Chapron oddly refuses to give Zlatan Ibrahimovic match ball after his hat-trick v Lorient pic.twitter.com/6X0zZeqg6P (via @jplusun)
— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) March 24, 2015
Ibrahimovic accused Chapron of playing up to the cameras and, unsurprisingly, the Swedish centre-forward eventually got his way.
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