Six Nations tournament: the Georgian referee of France – Scotland recovered from a stab

He is not scared. He is no longer afraid. He knows that at the final whistle, on the lawn of the Stade de France, whatever the result of the match, he will be greeted by most players. Nika Amashukeli, the Georgian referee of France – Scotland, during the third lifting of the Six Nations Tournament, this Sunday in Saint-Denis, has known many other contexts since his debut in the function ten years ago.

He was even stabbed. It was in 2016, in Georgia, in Poti, a port city nestled on the edge of the Black Sea, 250 km south of the Russian border, at the end of a first division meeting between Armia, the club of army and Batumi.

“In Georgia, all authority is viewed with great suspicion”

“There was no official timing,” he told British daily The Telegraph. The referees were in charge of controlling the time. I told the captains there were four minutes left. But the one in Batumi misunderstood me. He thought I said two minutes. His team led by three points, cleared the ball after two minutes but I did not whistle the end and the opponents snatched the draw thanks to a penalty (22-22). »

He continues: “It became stormy. The fans got involved. In Georgia, all authority is viewed with great suspicion. There were a lot of insults, a fight, someone had a knife and I felt something on my leg. As I looked, I saw blood everywhere. »

The young man is 22 years old and then thinks of turning his back on this sport which he discovered at 13 and which took him to international selections in the youth teams of his country, before being forced to end his playing career after multiple injuries. “I showed great mental strength,” he adds.

To the point of insisting, persisting and making his big debut in the elite of arbitration during the last tournament, in a match between Ireland and Italy in Dublin. A rise that will never erase the most complicated moment of his career, and of his life. A stab for a rugby match.