Nice vs Marseille was suspended after bottles were thrown to and from the crowd and fans invaded the Nice pitch. The two south coast teams were pla
Nice vs Marseille was suspended after bottles were thrown to and from the crowd and fans invaded the Nice pitch.
The two south coast teams were playing on Sunday night and Kasper Dolberg’s early second-half goal looked set to decide the match in Nice’s favour as Dimitri Payet prepared to take a corner for the away side.
However, the former West Ham playmaker fell to the ground after he appeared to be struck by a projectile from the crowd.
Dramatically, the player then appeared to launch an object back towards the crowd – not once but twice. Enraged, fans charged towards the pitch, with one making a beeline for Payet, only for him to be met by a wall of Marseille players.
Reports suggested that Gerson, Mattéo Guendouzi, Pape Gueye and Boubacar Kamara attempted to intervene as the situation threatened to get out of control.
Fury had now engulfed the Allianz Riviera with more fans streaming down from the stands as further projectiles rained down on the pitch as a full-scale melee broke out.
Stewards raced from different parts of the stadium to confront the situation, but play was suspended.
Payet – having been a main protagonist in the original incident – then had to try to pacify his manager Jorge Sampaoli as the teams left the field with the Marseille coach incandescent with anger as another fracas took place near the tunnel.
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