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Assault of Daniel Nivel (Lens 1998 case, Lens 1998)

SOLVEDLens, France0:39

On 21 June 1998, French Gendarmerie officer Daniel Nivel was beaten by German football hooligans in Lens during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, leaving him in a six-week coma with permanent disability. Nivel survived, and in 2018 Germany honored him with its Order of Merit. Send this to someone from Lens.

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In Lens, World Cup hooligans beat a gendarme into a coma. Lens, 1998. Germany had just played Yugoslavia. Daniel Nivel was one of three gendarmes the mob caught. He lost his helmet, he went down, and they kept kicking. Germany's own chancellor called it a national disgrace. Its football federation considered pulling the team out. Five men were convicted, in France and in Germany. Nivel survived. Twenty years later, Germany gave him its Order of Merit. Should Germany have withdrawn? The full case file is on casepin dot org.

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