Fights and flares caused Marseille’s Europa League clash with Galatasaray to be suspended as crowd trouble boiled over once again in the South of France.
There have been a number of high-profile incidents involving French teams this season, but the latest showing could have been even more dangerous with supporters throwing flares at each other.
Both sections of the stands lit up as fans threw flares[/caption]
Former Crystal Palace defender Patrick van Aanholt wasn’t used to such scenes at Selhurst Park[/caption]
The two sets of fans appeared united pre-match, singing anti-PSG songs outside of the Stade Velodrome, but things soon turned ugly once they were inside the ground.
The Orange Velodrome clash was high on tension and incident, which spilled into the stands before half time.
The match was suspended for ten minutes by referee Pawel Raczkowski as flares passed between the stands and stewards struggled to contain the two sets of supporters.
Riot police soon intervened to calm the irate crowd with the game, which finished goalless, then able to continue later.
There was plenty of needle on the pitch, but it didn’t compare to what was about to unfold in the stands[/caption]
Players had to wait as riot police managed to calm things down[/caption]
Former West Ham winger Dimitri Payet looked on despondently, but it’s not the first time he’s seen such chaos, as he was involved a similar incident earlier in the season.
Playing away at south coast rivals Nice in Ligue 1 last month, objects were repeatedly thrown on the pitch by home supporters.
Payet regrettably reacted, picking up a bottle and throwing it back into the crowd, which caused a mass brawl with fans running on the pitch to confront the players.
Payet opted to stay away this time, leaving the clear up to the riot police[/caption]
That match was abandoned with Nice docked two points, one of which is suspended, and the match will now be replayed behind closed doors.
Similar incidents have occured in other French matches this season, with Marseille supporters fighting with Metz fans, while Lille vs Lens was briefly stopped when a pitch invasion occurred.
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