French judo coach Alain Schmitt, who Olympic judo champion Margaux Pinot accused of domestic violence, on Friday said that he had defended himself in a fight that he said she started.
His remarks came after a judge on Wednesday acquitted Schmitt, which sparked widespread anger in France, as the state prosecutor launched an appeal.
Pinot, who won mixed team gold at the Tokyo Olympics, accused Schmitt — her partner and former coach — of attacking her in a drunken rage while she was in bed in her apartment on Saturday last week.
Photo: AFP
“He straddled me, and started punching me, left and right,” the 27-year old told a news conference on Thursday, her face covered in bruises.
“I didn’t even defend myself to avoid the punches, instead I tried to reason with him. I said: ‘Stop Alain, stop,’” she said. “I thought to myself, I need to get away from him, or I’ll die here.”
Pinot had facial injuries, including a fractured nose when she filed a police complaint early on Sunday last week. Police arrested Schmitt, who denied the allegation at a hearing.
The state prosecutor requested a one-year suspended sentence for what they deemed “very serious violence,” but the judge decided there was not “enough proof of guilt” for the prosecution to proceed.
After the hearing, Pinot posted on Twitter a picture of her swollen, injured face, writing in French: “What was missing? My death at the end, perhaps? It’s probably judo that saved me and my thoughts go out to other women who cannot say the same.”
“My impression is that I was defending myself,” Schmitt told French broadcaster BFM TV on Friday. “I have never hit a woman in my entire life. In my intimate life I am a tender person.”
He also said that it was Pinot who attacked him, out of anger because he was about to leave for Israel, where he had been hired to coach the national women’s judo team.
Pinot rejected Schmitt’s version of events, telling reporters: “He’s lying.”
Following the accusations, the Israeli judo federation broke off contact with Schmitt.
French Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu said she supported Pinot, “who for me is clearly the victim in what has happened,” while French judo stars Teddy Riner and Clarisse Agbegnenou also publicly backed Pinot, with Riner saying there should be more support for victims.
Pinot also had the support of the French judo federation, which said it was shocked by her injuries.
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