Female referee forced off after being knocked to ground in Metz vs Fortuna Sittard player melee

A female referee was forced off after being knocked to the ground while attempting to break up a confrontation between players during a preseason friendly between French club Metz and Dutch side Fortuna Sittard on Saturday.

Mathilde Demoncay was caught in the melee after tensions flared in the 40th minute following a foul on Fortuna striker Lequincio Zeefuik, who had been pulled back by his shirt.

Zeefuik reacted angrily and became involved in an altercation with several Metz players, prompting others from both teams to rush into the confrontation.

Demoncay attempted to restore order but was knocked over in the crush and fell heavily to the turf, with footage of the incident circulating on social media. The confrontation took place in front of an advertising board carrying the message: "Respect the referee."

The 26-year-old remained on the ground for several minutes, holding her arm, as assistant referees, medical staff and security personnel entered the pitch to assess her and bring the situation under control.

Demoncay was able to continue when play resumed, moving into an assistant referee role, but she left the field at half-time.

One of the original assistant referees took charge of the game for the second half, while ESPN Netherlands reported that a spectator who is also an amateur referee stepped in to run the line.

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Reports in France said Demoncay suffered a mild concussion in the incident.

Fortuna described the episode as a "remarkable moment" in the match report published on the club's website but provided no further details about Demoncay's condition. Metz did not mention the incident in its own match report.

Metz won the game 3-1, with Justin Hübner scoring Fortuna's only goal.

Information from ESPN Netherlands was used in this report.