Abdelatif Kherradji sent to FFF disciplinary council

Abdelatif Kherradji will face the French Football Federation’s disciplinary council after its national ethics body decided that his case should proceed rather than be closed. The referral leaves his future as a Ligue 1 referee subject to a separate decision from the criminal court process.

Kherradji, 40, was sentenced on 19 August to six months in prison suspended for domestic violence. The ruling also included a three-year ban on contacting the victim and a compulsory course addressing domestic violence. He has appealed the judgment and will therefore be presumed innocent when he appears before the FFF disciplinary authority.

The ethics body rejected the argument that the events belonged exclusively to Kherradji’s private life, saying the federation’s standards of exemplary conduct also apply away from football. It also retained its disciplinary jurisdiction despite the conviction not being entered on the second section of his criminal record. The possible penalties range from a warning to removal from the federation.

Kherradji has not refereed since June after failing to attend the required physical tests, with a return possible no earlier than late September. His lawyer argued that disciplinary action would amount to an unjustified second punishment. Kherradji has also filed a complaint against his partner over alleged violence that caused two periods of work incapacity; that case has not yet been judged.