Chaos as French top-flight football match abandoned after players attacked

23 August 2021, 10:59 | Updated: 23 August 2021, 11:51

By Nick Hardinges

@NHardinges

A French top-flight football match was abandoned after fans stormed the pitch and attacked players who they had thrown bottles at.

Sunday night's Ligue 1 encounter between Nice and Marseille was drawn to an early close after home supporters stormed the field midway through the second half.

The fiery fixture had already seen seven yellow cards dished out between the two teams before the drama spilt over to the stands of the Allianz Riviera stadium.

Trailing 1-0 to a Kasper Dolberg goal, Marseille star Dimitri Payet walked over to take a corner in front of a particularly rowdy section of the ground.

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But before taking the set-piece, the former West Ham star was downed after being struck by a bottle hurled at him by Nice supporters.

The attacking midfielder responded by hurling the projectile back into the crowd.

Angry Nice 'Ultras' - fanatical and vociferous fans - retaliated by entering the pitch and trying to attack the Marseille man.

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Scuffles broke out around the ground, with supporters, players and coaches all being dragged away from the violent clashes by either stewards or their teammates.

Both teams were taken off amid safety concerns but when the home side returned to the field to resume play, the visitors chose not to carry on, leaving the referee with no choice but to abandon the game.

Some of the Marseille squad were injured during the skirmishes, according to reports.

The club's president Pablo Longoria said: "Our players were attacked.

"We decided for the safety of our players, who were attacked during the pitch invasion, not to resume the match because the safety of our players was not guaranteed."

The carnage continued for a few minutes, with pockets of scuffles breaking out and Marseille head coach Jorge Sampaoli needing to be restrainged by his staff.

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Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere - who appealed for calm over the stadium's public address system during the delay - attributed some blame for the ugly scenes to Marseille.

"It's disappointing that the game ended like this," he said.

"Everyone saw what happened. We can't deny that water bottles were thrown because we could all see it. What ignited the clashes was the reaction of two Marseille players who retaliated.

"Afterwards, it is deplorable that the Marseille security staff intervened on the ground and hit our players."