In mid-October, Yannick Muller, an amateur footballer saved the life of a referee with three others, when the official suffered a heart attack in the middle of a league match. An INEOS employee in the east of France, Yannick fell in love with Le Gym several years ago.

On Sunday 18 October, Farébersviller were hosting Creutzwald in the District Second Division. Just a few minutes before the break, the match official fell to the ground in the middle of the pitch. Yannick Muller, the visitor’s centre back, explains: "I hadn’t seen at first that the referee had collapsed, we didn’t immediately realise what was happening. Thankfully, there were a couple of us that were first aid trained.” Quickly, a solidarity chain was in place. Two supporters from the home side, intervened alongside Yannick and one of his teammates: "One of the supporters was a paramedic and the other a nurse, my teammate is a physio and I am a first aider at work." As a team, the four men brought the referee back to life. "The defibrillator saved him" one of the heroes of that day concluded modestly.

As an amateur footballer, Yannick Muller’s blood turned red and black thanks to his brother Christophe: "He moved to Saint-Laurent-du-Var around 15 years ago and we go to matches together when I visit him in the south." First up "at home" at the Stade du Ray for a match between Nice and Lorient that hasn’t made it into the history books. "A very good moment" remembers Yannick who also has fond memories of a trip to the Vélodrome: "We went with all of Le Gym supporters to Marseille in the car, it’s my best memory with Le Gym. It was the first time I had been to an away match. It was amazing."

The coincidence being that since 2016, this OGC Nice fan has been working for INEOS (the owners of the club) "in a factory in Sarralbe that produces polymers. I am in charge of a machine that produces polyethylene and polypropylene."

As a token of his bravery, one of the heroes of Sunday 18 October had the surprise of receiving a signed OGC Nice shirt: "I wasn’t expecting it, it’s a really nice touch. My brother had hid this from me. I won’t wear it, I will frame it."

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