Marseille, Nice Game Abandoned as Fans Storm Pitch to Attack Players, Sparking Violent Brawl
10:09 GMT 23.08.2021 (Updated: 10:49 GMT 26.10.2022)
© AFP 2023 / VALERY HACHE
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A football match brought France into disgrace as chaos reigned supreme in the Ligue 1 clash between fierce rivals Marseille and Nice on Sunday. It turned out to be a dramatic night as a pitch invasion led to an ugly confrontation between the players and fans, resulting in the game being called off before completion.
Marseille's away game against Nice was marred by ugly scenes after the visiting team's star midfielder Dimitri Payet was confronted by home fans, leading to a mass brawl between spectators and officials as well as players.
The violent confrontation among the players, officials, and fans began soon after Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet was hit by a bottle thrown at him by Nice admirers before the French national player threw it back at the crowd in a fit of rage.
Tension prevailed inside the stadium as soon as the match began, with members of the crowd continuing to shower the Marseille players with expletive words throughout the contest. The environment began to heat up further after countless home fans began throwing projectiles at Marseille players.
But all hell broke loose when fans charged the field after Payet responded to their barrage of insults in the 75th minute, close to a corner flag.
Television footage showed a pitch invader lying on the ground just after being punched in the face by a Marseille staff member.
A real Malice in the Palace type situation at the French Riviera between Marseille and Nice.
Ugly scenes after Dimitri Payet got tagged in the face by stupid, moronic Nice fans. Ugly scenes. pic.twitter.com/uRrKS1Eupr
Ugly scenes after Dimitri Payet got tagged in the face by stupid, moronic Nice fans. Ugly scenes. pic.twitter.com/uRrKS1Eupr
Dimitri Payet struck in the back by a bottle thrown by Nice fans. He then threw it back into the crowd.
— ⚽🖤💛🔴⚪⚫ (@ElijahKyama) August 23, 2021
Marseille players had been targeted by plastic water bottles from that section of the crowd throughout the match.pic.twitter.com/KdHGeDilkm
One of the Marseille staff ran on and lumped a Nice fan ffs 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Vq0aq1rN1u
— Pato (@jpaterson97) August 22, 2021
I can't believe that will stand the 3-0 win for Nice-Marseille.
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) August 22, 2021
Must be 0-3 and at least 4 games stadium ban for Nice
What we saw today between Nice and Marseille was one of the biggest embarrassments and disgraces in the history of French football. Anything less is an understatement.
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) August 22, 2021
Bravo to Marseille for not returning to the pitch and refusing to dignify what just happened.
Marseille staff just knocked out a Nice fan!
— Photos of Football (@photosofootball) August 22, 2021
Pure chaos 😱 pic.twitter.com/JhvIyFONEp
On the other hand, Nice President Jean-Pierre Rivere made appeals to the club's supporters over the Public Address system, but to no avail as the fight between the officials and the fans continued for some time.
The pitch invasion by Nice supporters and the subsequent riots on the ground forced the referee to suspend the game for 90 minutes before he blew the final whistle, announcing the abandonment of the match as Marseille's players refused to return from their dressing room.
When the game was abandoned, Nice were leading 1-0, thanks to Kasper Dolberg's goal in the first half.
While Nice had a slender 1-0 advantage at that stage, Marseille's act of defiance eventually cost them dearly as they suffered an automatic 3-0 loss as per Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) rules.
According to the BBC, a number of Marseille players suffered injuries during the melee.
"Our players were attacked", Marseille President Pablo Longoria said after the incident. "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. What happened today is completely unacceptable, we must set a precedent for French football", he added.
The mayor of Marseille, Benoit Payan, took to social media to back his players for not agreeing to the resumption of the game.
"Injured players, failing security: the match should never have been resumed. Sad decision. Proud of my team, which did not play along with this farce", he said on Twitter.
