Accused of domestic violence against judokate Margaux Pinot, coach Alain Schmitt acquitted again on appeal

Alain Schmitt et son avocate Me Caroline Wassermann maxppp – Margaux Stive

L'entraîneur de judo Alain Schmitt a été de nouveau relaxé vendredi par la cour d'appel de Paris de faits de violences conjugales sur son ancienne compagne judoka, la championne olympique Margaux Pinot. 

The two athletes have been tearing each other apart for six months on the benches of the courts and through the media over a violent altercation that occurred in November 2021 in Blanc-Mesnil (Seine-Saint-Denis), for which the technician had already been acquitted in April by the Bobigny criminal court.

⚖ Accusé de violences conjugales sur la championne olympique Margaux Pinot, l'entraîneur de judo Alain Schmitt a été relaxé ce vendredi par la cour d'appel de Paris. Ce jugement confirme celui prononcé en première instance.https://t.co/V1PvyaTVvV

— RMC Sport (@RMCsport) June 10, 2022

The 28-year-old judoka claims to have received numerous blows to the face from Alain Schmitt, which her ex-companion, 38, has always denied. Mr. Schmitt's first acquittal sparked outrage in French judo and signaled the start of a media battle between the athletes.

Contradictory versions

The Bobigny public prosecutor's office appealed. During the two trials, one in Bobigny in December, the second in Paris in April, the two athletes did not modify their line of defense, providing contradictory accounts of the events that occurred at the home of the judoka.

Linked on the tatami mats by a coach-athlete relationship at the Étoile sportif du Blanc-Mesnil club, Alain Schmitt and Margaux Pinot have had a confidential romantic affair since 2017 .

While he has to fly to Israel a few hours later to take the position of coach of the women's national team, the technician argument in the middle of the night with Margaux Pinot.

He describes a woman mad with rage and jealousy who throws herself at him then a fight like a “tornado”, based on judo holds. The duo violently bumped into walls and objects in the apartment, according to his account. He denies having dealt any blow to his partner.

The scene played out in a very different way according to Margaux Pinot who recounts a surge of violence from her then trainer, hair pulled , a hail of blows and an attempted strangulation.

Numerous bruises were noted over the following days on the two protagonists. His dreams of Israel destroyed by this affair, Alain Schmitt nevertheless bounced back: he now coaches the Bulgarian judo teams. As for Margaux Pinot, she won a bronze medal at the end of April at the European Judo Championships, in Sofia…in Bulgaria.

Also read: Justice: one year in prison required against Alain Schmitt on appeal for domestic violence against Margaux Pinot

Also read: Pinot affair: "She threw herself at me", Alain Schmitt promises to have "never hit a woman in his life"