Ligue 1 referee to appear in Nîmes court on seven August over alleged domestic violence | OneFootball

A Ligue 1 referee is due before the Nîmes judicial court on Friday seven August over alleged intentional domestic violence against his partner.

According to L'Équipe, confirmed by the Nîmes prosecutor's office, the official is suspected of deliberately using violence against her.

The first alleged incident, on 13 March, saw him grab her by the neck and pull her by the arms and hair during an argument.

A second, on 13 May, allegedly involved pulling her arm, gripping her shoulders and pinning her to a wall. A doctor prescribed three days’ temporary incapacity for work. They had been together for four years.

The complainant's lawyer, Olivier Morice, said domestic violence touches every sector, including refereeing, and argued a professional enforcing football’s laws should know the limits. His client, he added, wants a strong decision to prevent any repeat.

The referee's lawyer, Éric Borghini, who heads the Ligue Méditerranée and formerly led the federal refereeing commission, declined to discuss the merits, stressed the presumption of innocence and said his client would present arguments and evidence in court.

He is said to have told investigators there was mutual aggression amid high tension. He is also understood to have filed a complaint against his former partner, not officially confirmed at the time, and has sought to move the case from Nîmes because she practises law there.

Source: L'Équipe