Like a foul, foul, unfair taste of ippon.
The world of judo never ceases to proclaim its incomprehension and its anger after the release of the judo coach Alain Schmitt for acts of domestic violence on the Olympic champion Margaux Pinot.
This time, it is Stéphane Nomis, the president of the French Judo Federation who decided to climb on the tatami of my anger.
"We did not understand and we were stunned, we took a knockout by the decision," said Mr. Nomis.
Believing "not to have enough evidence of guilt" of violence by the former member of the French judo team on his companion this weekend in Seine-Saint-Denis, the Bobigny criminal court released Alain Schmitt in an immediate appearance hearing on Tuesday.
“I've been trying to figure it out for a day.
I do not understand how we can say that there is an absence of evidence, said the leader.
I don't have the whole file, but when you see her condition, I find it hard to understand that anyone can say
no evidence
.
“A few hours after the release, the Bobigny prosecutor's office announced to appeal.
"I was in shock to see her in this state"
"For the common people, absence of evidence by seeing the head of Margaux, it is incomprehensible", insisted Mr. Nomis, who explains that the federation has accompanied Margaux Pinot since Sunday.
“My first reaction was to meet her quickly.
I saw her condition, it was very hard, I was in shock to see her in this state, ”he said.
"We discussed for two hours at the federation" and "straight away, we took charge of Margaux to help her (...), we did our best to accompany her until the hearing, and during" with "psychological follow-up, doctor, lawyer", he continued.
“We will obviously be very, very attentive to the final decision, it will have our support, the opinion is with it, the federation is with it,” he added.
Wednesday afternoon, the judoka crowned Olympic champion with the France team in Tokyo, in the new mixed team event, spoke for the first time since the start of the affair to express her indignation, on the networks social, and posted a photo of his swollen face.
"She is tired, she is shocked, she has trouble understanding" (the release), said the president of the federation about Margaux Pinot.
To read also Judo: "I came close to death" ... the confessions of Margaux Pinot, who accuses his companion of having hit her
On the more global issue of violence, which Stéphane Nomis had made one of his main campaign axes at the end of 2020 during the election to the presidency of the French Judo Federation, after a series of revelations of cases of sexual violence, "there , it is a private matter, but the work on violence, it is a long term work, he explained.
We took the bull by the horns (…), we want everyone to be trained and warned that we will be intolerant.
"