Lyon v Marseille abandoned after Payet hit by bottle, arrest revealed as LFP condemns more French violence

Former
West
Ham
playmaker
Payet
was
preparing
to
take
a
corner
amid
a
hostile
atmosphere
when
he
was
struck
on
the
side
of
the
head
by
a
plastic
bottle
full
of
liquid.

He
immediately
went
to
ground
and
needed
treatment,
prompting
referee
Ruddy
Buquet
to
take
the
players
off
the
pitch.
Payet
left
the
field
with
an
ice
pack
pressed
to
the
side
of
his
head.

Lyon
president
Jean-Michel
Aulas
later
said
a
spectator
had
been
arrested
in
connection
with
the
bottle
throwing,
and
offered
an
apology
to
Payet.

The
Ligue
de
Football
Professionnel
(LFP)
said
its
disciplinary
chiefs
would
meet
on
Monday,
describing
the
rash
of
violent
incidents
in
Ligue
1
as
acts
that
are
“destroying
the
image
of
the
championship
in
France
and
internationally”.

Lyon
could
face
a
points
deduction
over
the
incident,
with
Nice
having
been
docked
two
points,
one
of
which
was
suspended,
after
crowd
trouble
at
their
game
against
Marseille
earlier
this
season.

President

@JM_Aulas
:
“After
a
rather
long
discussion,
a
decision
was
taken
by
Mr.
Buquet.
When
there
are
55,000
people
in
a
stadium,
precautions
must
be
taken.
The
referee
summoned
everyone
a
second
time
to
announce
that
he
had
changed
his
mind.
“

—
Olympique
Lyonnais
(@OL_English)

November
21,
2021

The
LFP
said
it
“strongly
condemns
the
violent
aggression”
that
Payet
suffered.
“Dimitri
Payet
was
also
the
target
of
discriminatory
insults,”
the
LFP
said.

It
added
a
firm
warning
that
fan
misconduct
will
lead
to
sanctions,
stating:
“Despite
the
firmness
of
the
decisions
of
the
disciplinary
commission
of
the
LFP
since
the
start
of
the
season
[withdrawal
of
points,
closed-door
match,
closure
of
the
stand]
and
the
work
carried
out
with
the
government
authorities
to
more
effectively
punish
violent
individuals
in
the
stadiums,
these
new
serious
incidents
are
a
reminder
that
the
safety
of
the
matches
is
the
responsibility
of
the
home
club
and
the
local
authorities,
who
are
ultimately
responsible
for
resuming
or
definitively
stopping
the
match.”

There
was
a
bizarre
sideshow
to
the
serious
business
of
the
assault
on
Payet,
as
the
LFP
and
local
authorities
took
contrasting
views
on
what
happened
after
the
players
were
hauled
off
the
pitch.

The
LFP
claimed
a
decision
had
been
taken
by
the
local
Rhone
prefecture
to
resume
the
game,
but
those
officials
hit
out
at
the
league
authorities
and
said
they
had
made
no
such
declaration,
stressing
that
Buquet
decided
it
should
start
again
before
changing
his
mind.

Fans
stayed
inside
the
Groupama
Stadium
long
after
the
incident
occurred,
in
the
hope
of
a
resumption
that
never
came,
even
though
at
one
point
it
looked
like
doing
so
when
the
players
returned
to
the
pitch
to
warm
up.

The
Rhone
local
government
officials
said
in
a
statement
on
Twitter
that
a
“crisis
meeting”
had
taken
place,
attended
by
their
representatives
and
others,
including
match
officials
and
presidents
of
both
clubs,
at
which
referee
Buquet
decided
the
match
should
resume.

The
Rhone
officials
issued
a
subsequent
statement
taking
issue
with
the
LFP
take,
describing
it
as
“FALSE”,
adding:
“The
referee
then
invites
the
authorities
and
club
presidents
to
his
dressing
room
to
say
that
he
has
changed
his
mind
and
that
he
is
stopping
the
match.”

There
have
been
a
number
of
major
crowd
trouble
incidents
in
French
football
this
season,
starting
from
the
opening
weekend
when
Marseille
midfielder
Valentin
Rongier
was
hit
by
a
bottle
while
celebrating
a
goal
that
Payet
scored
against
Montpellier.

Marseille
and
Payet
were
on
the
receiving
end
later
in
August
after
Nice
fans
hurled
bottles
onto
the
pitch.
Payet
was
struck
and
hurled
the
bottle
back
into
the
stand,
sparking
a
pitch
invasion
by
Nice
ultras.
That
match
was
abandoned
and
replayed
behind
closed
doors
at
Troyes’ neutral
ground
in
October,
with
Nice
served
with
their
points
penalty.

Saint-Etienne
and
Angers
were
delayed
by
an
hour
in
starting
their
October
22
game
after
angry
fans
hurled
flares
onto
the
pitch
and
demanded
Claude
Puel
quit
as
Saint-Etienne
boss.
There
was
also
trouble
at
Saint-Etienne’s
game
against
Lyon,
while
the
clash
between
Lens
and
Lille
in
September
was
held
up
after
rival
fans
clashed
at
half-time.

⏱️
4′
❌
The
referee
has
suspended
the
match
after
Dimitri
Payet
was
hit
by
a
loaded
water
bottle.#OLOM
|
0⃣
–
0⃣
|
⚪️????

—
Olympique
de
Marseille
????????
????????
(@OM_English)

November
21,
2021