PARIS: The French federation has suspended Tony Chapron, the referee who appeared deliberately to trip Nantes player Diego Carlos in Sunday’s Ligue 1 game against Paris Saint-Germain.

During stoppage-time, Chapron bumped into Carlos and fell over with TV footage showing him swinging his leg towards the running defender’s shins.

An FFF statement said: “The technical direction of refereeing and the federal commission of refereeing have decided on the withdrawal until further notice of Tony Chapron, who had been appointed for Wednesday’s Ligue 1 game between Angers and Troyes.”

Chapron will also be summoned before the league’s disciplinary committee.

A few seconds after the incident, Chapron gave Carlos a yellow card, which resulted in the player being sent off as he had also been booked in the first half.

Chapron apologised to Carlos on Monday, saying: “This clumsy gesture was inappropriate. I therefore wish to apologise to Diego Carlos.”

The French league said later on Monday that it had cancelled Carlos’s second yellow card, meaning he is eligible to play in Ligue 1 against Toulouse on Wednesday.

Nantes forward Valentin Rongier said: “I know that refereeing is tough but if we do something like this, we get a 10-game suspension.”

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