Nice-Marseille Game Abandoned After Pitch Invasion
The French Ligue 1 game between Nice and Marseille was abandoned when fans of the home side invaded the pitch and angrily confronted opposing player Dimitri Payet, who had thrown a bottle lobbed at him back into the crowd, before an ugly brawl broke out involving players and spectators at the Allianz Riviera stadium in France.
Marseille eventually refused to restart the match with club officials claiming their players’ safety could not be guaranteed. Angry home supporters then invaded the pitch, threatening Payet.
In the brawl, Marseille’s Alvaro Gonzalez and Matteo Guendouzi ran towards the end of the ground to face down the fans. Nice skipper Dante attempted to calm angry supporters.
A security cordon of stewards, dressed in yellow vests, tried to stem the pitch invasion before a brawl broke out between players of the two teams, supporters and staff. Marseille coach Jorge Sampaoli was seen being restrained by his staff and players.
The referee then led both teams off to the safety of the dressing room. Eighty minutes after the game was suspended, Nice, who were leading through a Kasper Dolberg goal, said they wanted to restart. Marseille, however, wanted the match halted for good.
“The decision was taken by the authorities to resume the match, but Marseille do not want to,” Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere said in an interview.
According to a source, the referee Benoit Bastien was also opposed to a restart. Eventually, the match was abandoned when the Marseille team refused to continue.
“Our players were attacked,” said Marseille president Pablo Longoria. “The league wanted the match to restart. We decided for the safety of our players, who were attacked during the pitch invasion, not to resume because the safety of our players was not guaranteed.”
“The referee was with us, he confirmed to Jorge Sampaoli and me that safety was not guaranteed and decided to stop the game.”
Chidi Nwoke/French Ligue 1.
