Jean Le Bidois

Jean Le Bidois (1898 – 13 March 1927) was a French footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and who was a member of the French squad that competed in the football tournament of the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, but he did not play in any matches. He died as a result of a on-field incident in 1927.

Playing career Born in Normandy in 1898, Le Bidois began his football career at his hometown club Sotteville FC, where he stood out as a good goalkeeper, being regularly called up for the French national team, including the football tournament of the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, but he did not play in any matches.

In the 1925–26 season, Le Bidois established himself as SOE's starting goalkeeper, helping his side achieve promotion, but the presence of Maurice Cottenet and Pierre Chayriguès blocked him from finally earning his first official cap for the French team, so he had to settle with the Parisian selection, with whom he played in friendlies against Gipuzkoa, Sud-Ouest, London, and Berlin, A few days later, on 25 February, the journalist Marcel Rossini dedicated an article to his return, which was published in the French newspaper L'Intransigeant, describing him "as one of our best representatives in Berlin, where he attracted the applause of the crowd as well as the praise of the German critics".

Death Just two weeks later, on 13 March 1927, while keeping goal for SOE in a season-ending match of the , the 28-year-old Le Bidois received a violent kick at his carotid artery from Aron Pollitz of US Suisse Paris, losing conscious immediately and then dying in the locker room just five minutes later; the game was called off after the announcement of his death.

His death sparked a debate about the need for goalkeepers to wear protective helmets and a petition was launched to call for a ban on the so-called "goalkeeper charge", the action of jostling the goalkeeper to prevent him from having the ball, which was tolerated by the rules of the time. Following his death, funds were raised for the construction of a memorial, tournaments were organized, and SOE even named its ground after him. His funeral took place five days later, on 18 March, and it was attended by 3,000 people, including Jules Rimet, Henri Delaunay, Nicolas, and Chayriguès.