The football tournament turned into drama. A 15-year-old Berlin teenager, seriously injured by an FC Metz player during a general brawl at an international tournament held in Frankfurt, western Germany, died "as a result of his serious brain injuries" on Wednesday according to German police.
What exactly happened?
FC Metz and JFC Berlin were played in the semi-finals of the Germany Cup, an international tournament that featured teams from 16 different countries, mostly European. At the final whistle, while the Berlin team beat the Garnets by the smallest of margins (1-0), a fight between several players broke out, without knowing for the moment what triggered this situation.
According to the Frankfurt prosecutor's office, a FC Metz player began boxing a first Berliner in the face before attacking Paul, the young teenager who died, first with a choke wrench and blows to the abdomen. At the end of the fight that involved several players, the JFC Berlin player collapsed to the ground.
The Berlin teenager hit by a Metz player in a fight during a football tournament in Germany has died
➡️ https://t.co/orMc7ioWqF pic.twitter.com/JWAFuJMhyI
— Le Parisien (@le_Parisien) June 1, 2023
Emergency services arrived on the scene a few minutes later. Transferred to the hospital, the young player was "artificially kept alive so that he could donate his organs," said prosecutor's spokeswoman Nadja Niesen. "In order to clarify the circumstances of (the death of the young German), an autopsy will be performed in the coming days," she added.
What do the witnesses say?
Without additional information provided by the prosecutor's office, some witnesses of the scene have already given their testimonies in the media. According to the father of a FC Metz player, the atmosphere between the players "was very tense" even the day before the match as he explained to L'Est Républicain.
According to him, the young Messin involved - "a young man who has never been talked about" - was surrounded by "five or six" opponents when leaving the field, his teammates then "came to the rescue". "Who did what in this scrum? Difficult to say as things went quickly. Everyone returned to his bench except for one player who remained lying on the pitch, "said the father of the family who was heard by the German police.
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For his part, an educator of the Moselle team of SO Merlebach reported to BFMTV that the altercation had "come out of nowhere": "We, what we saw, were screams and young people who gathered in the middle of the field". After the coaches separated everyone, "they realized that there was a young person who remained on the ground and who was not moving".
"Once the firefighters arrived, they started putting blankets on so we wouldn't see what's going on. But the first gestures of cardiac massage, we saw them. At first, young people didn't understand what was going on. They wondered why he didn't get up. This shocks everyone a little," said Grégory Nimeskern.
Who is suspected?
The young player in question is 16 years old and plays in the FC Metz Performance Program, a structure integrated into the 2nd division club, and which allows "young footballers or educators from all over the world to be able to access a high-level training structure".
The club has not yet specified the nationality of the offending player, but said, in a statement, that the young man was "heard by the German authorities and denies having voluntarily harmed the physical integrity of the young injured player".
Homeless in Germany, the Frankfurt prosecutor's office considered that there was a risk of flight of the young Garnet. He is therefore still in pre-trial detention for "assault and battery resulting in death" pending investigation. "It is currently not possible to say how long the accused will remain in detention," Frankfurt chief prosecutor Nadja Niesen said Wednesday morning. The police have launched an appeal to obtain the videos that would have been shot and that could help to reconstruct the facts, and to definitively identify the player.
What is the reaction of the clubs?
Having already communicated on the incident, FC Metz reacted again after the announcement of the death of the young opposing player. "The whole of FC Metz is deeply shocked by this tragedy and sends its most sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the young player," regretted the Lorraine club.
Following the tragedy that occurred this weekend in Frankfurt (read the club's press release published Tuesday ➡️https://t.co/bKcAOH8b16), FC Metz learned from the media of the death of the young opposing player today.
The whole of FC Metz is deeply shocked by this drama and addresses its most ... pic.twitter.com/5ETxVUKkjj
— FC Metz ☨ (@FCMetz) May 31, 2023
"The Garnet club would like once again to recall that FC Metz Performance Program, as well as all the players and parents present, are obviously at the disposal of the German authorities to help advance the investigation," added the club, which plays the rise in Ligue 1 on the last day;
The Berlin centre, where Paul, the 15-year-old German, was being fired, said it would not comment publicly, "for privacy reasons". The German Football Association said it was "appalled" by the tragedy. Vice-President Ronny Zimmermann recalled that preventing violence was no longer enough in football: "We are also dealing with a social problem."
