Female referee injured in melee during friendly

A female referee was injured and had to leave the pitch after being knocked to the ground during a friendly between French ⁠club Metz and Fortuna Sittard of the Netherlands.

Mathilde Demoncay reportedly suffered concussion when she was knocked to the ground as she tried to break up a melee between the players.

Tension flared ‌in the 40th minute when two ‌opposing players confronted each other after a shirt-tugging incident, with other players rushed to join in the confrontation.

Demoncay ended up ⁠on the ground after attempting to intervene, falling heavily.

She remained on the pitch for several minutes, holding her ‌arm, while assistant referees, security personnel and ​medical staff ran on to the pitch ‌to restore order and ⁠assess her condition.

The 26-year-old Demoncay resumed as the ⁠assistant referee after play restarted but left the field at ‌half-time, with another ​assistant taking over her ‌duties.

Metz won the game 3-1.