Ligue 1 game halted after fight between players and fans (video below): A French league match between Nice and Marseille was suspended on Sunday after home fans threw projectiles and invaded the field after an opposition player threw a bottle back after being hit.
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With about 15 minutes remaining, former West Ham United and current Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet was hit on the back by a bottle thrown from an area with Nice fans.
💥 THIS IS MADNESS! 🤯 THE FANS INVADED THE PITCH! 😰
Nice fans ran on to the pitch during the OGC Nice-Marseille match.#OGCNOM pic.twitter.com/BKGxprGN53
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) August 22, 2021
Supporters had earlier been warned against throwing objects by the stadium announcer.
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Payet threw the bottle back into the crowd, prompting a significant number of Nice fans to rush the field.
The referee halted the match with Nice winning 1-0 at the time and sent the players to the locker rooms. The match was set to resume nearly an hour after the incident occurred.
UPDATE: Ligue 1 has a big decision to make after the match was not resumed after all, with Marseille refusing to take part after the fight (above video). There will undoubtedly be much controversy over this incident in the coming days…
Official | The referee blows full-time on OGC Nice vs Marseille, after Marseille refused to restart the match, which ostensibly means an automatic 3-0 victory for the hosts by LFP rules.
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) August 22, 2021
