A female referee sustained a concussion after being knocked to the ground during a friendly match between French club Metz and Fortuna Sittard of the Netherlands. The incident occurred in the 40th minute when two players confronted each other following a shirt-tugging foul, which quickly escalated into a melee involving other players.
Mathilde Demoncay, 26, was attempting to intervene and break up the altercation when she fell heavily to the ground. She remained on the pitch for several minutes while assistant referees, security, and medical staff attended to her.
Demoncay was able to resume her duties as an assistant referee after play restarted, but she left the field at halftime. Another assistant referee took over her responsibilities for the remainder of the match. Metz won the friendly 3-1.