The incident turned tragic. “After Sunday’s fight (…) between young players from Metz and Berlin, a 15-year-old boy died in hospital from serious brain injuries,” German police said in a statement. The victim, aged 15; had been hit in the head and throat by a 16-year-old French player, from an FC Metz training program, during a youth tournament in Frankfurt, in which teams from 16 different countries participated, European for most of them.
Investigation and autopsy
The suspect is still in pre-trial detention, said the Frankfurt police, who are continuing their investigation into the course of the events. “In order to clarify the circumstances of (the death of the young German), an autopsy will be performed in the coming days,” she added.
The deceased teenager, who belonged to the German team JFC Berlin, had so far been kept artificially alive so that he could donate his organs, the spokeswoman for the Frankfurt prosecutor’s office told AFP. Nadja Niesen.
On Tuesday, the French club, “deeply shocked by this tragedy”, did not specify the age and nationality of the offending player who plays within the FC Metz Performance Program, a structure integrated into the club and which allows “young footballers or educators from all over the world to be able to access a high-level training structure”.
Another football match degenerated in Trappes last April. A young man had been sentenced to two years in prison, including sixteen months suspended, for having fractured the palate of a 16-year-old player.
