It is October 19, 1991. AS Saint-Etienne hosts Olympique de Marseille in a First Division match (the ancestor of Ligue 1).
Getting off the club bus chaired by Bernard Tapie,
Jean-Pierre Papin gets a can of beer in the head. The attacker, then aged 27, walked a few meters before collapsing. Head to the hospital. A few days later, accusations of simulation surfaced.
“That evening, Papin had nothing at all,”
estimates the head of the Saint-Etienne SAMU, Jean-Claude Bertrand, in the columns of The Team. “He did not present any swelling, neither visible nor palpable”supports Doctor Guy Demonteil, ASSE doctor, who was able to examine JPP on the evening of the events. Scandalized by such comments, the native of Boulogne-sur-Mer threatens to end his career.
JPP allegedly simulated the attack
The Marseille center forward was also able to attend the meeting between the Greens and his teammates, after leaving the hospital. The locals won (1-0) thanks to a goal from Didier Tholot.
However, following the controversy over a supposed simulation by Jean-Pierre Papin, the French Football Federation decided to replay the match. In January 1992, the native of Boulogne-sur-Mer was established and scored the only goal for OM during this meeting which ended in a draw (1-1).
