Judo star coach relieves domestic violence, France stunned France

French sports stars and politicians expressed anger at the acquittal of a coach accused of domestic violence against Olympic judo champion Margaux Noir because the national prosecutor initiated an appeal.

Pino, 27, a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, reported serious facial injuries, including a broken nose, when he reported to the police early on Sunday morning. She said that her partner and coach, Alain Schmitt, attacked her in her apartment on the outskirts of Paris, threw her to the ground, insulted her, beat her many times, and repeatedly beat her on the head. Hit the ground and tried to strangle her.

Pino said she managed to escape from the apartment with the help of neighbors and called the police. That night, the police arrested and questioned Schmidt.

The case quickly entered a court hearing on Tuesday, and the 38-year-old Schmidt denied the allegations. State prosecutors demanded a one-year suspended sentence for what they considered “very serious violence”. But the judge believed that there was not “sufficient evidence of guilt” to allow the prosecution to proceed. The judge said: “The court can never judge who is telling the truth and who is lying.”

Schmidt told the court that he “100%” denied these allegations and that it was a struggle between lovers initiated by Pino.

Pino posted a photo of her swollen and injured face on social media. She talked about the “blood on the floor of my apartment” and said, “What’s missing? Maybe I died in the end? Maybe judo saved me, and my thoughts were conveyed to other women who couldn’t say the same.”

Schmidt had bruises around his eyes, and he said at a press conference that he felt he was being tried by social media. He said Pino was lying and denied all allegations. He said they had quarreled, and Pino punched him and pushed him to a door. When he tried to escape, they hit a wall and a radiator. He said she made him fall in love with her. His lawyer said Pino had “behavioral problems.”

He said: “In my life, I have never beaten anyone…I can’t beat anyone, they ran away, I caught up with them-it is impossible. Before I should put her head All this after being buried in the ground? This is a joke…Of course she is lying.”

He added: “She jumped on top of me and grabbed my collar. I stepped back and she pushed me onto the door frame. I bumped my head. I got up a little dazed. She punched me and then Upgraded. We hit walls, radiators and doors.”

Pino and her lawyers then held their own press conference, with bruises on her face, telling her thoughts about the events that night, and describing how she thought she would die. “He grabbed my hair, pulled me to the ground, straddled me, and started pulling my hair, banging my head on the ground. He wanted to strangle me,” Pino said.

She said she thought in her heart that she must find a way to leave the apartment, “otherwise I will die.” She said when talking about his press conference that he was lying and trying to prove that she was a “hysterical woman.”

Pino described the relationship between control behavior and abuse. Schmidt didn’t want their relationship to be known. She said that he often insulted her, said that her career had nowhere to go, and criticized her personality. Pino said that the weekend’s attack began with Schmidt’s disparaging remarks. She said that she was lying on the bed, covering her ears with her fingers and could not hear, and then she started to strike. She said he had smashed things in her apartment before.

Her lawyer said the neighbors heard Pino’s cry for help and took her into their apartment.

Sports Minister Roxana Mărăcineanu stated that she supports Pinot and “to me, he is clearly a victim of what happened”. French judo stars Teddy Riner and Clarisse Agbégnénou also publicly supported Pinot. Reina said that more support should be provided to the victims.

Pinot also has the support of the French Judo Federation, which said it was shocked by her injuries.

The mayor of Paris and the Socialist Party presidential candidate Anne Hidalgo and another left-wing presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Méranchon, both support Pinot.