The match had not resumed at 9.45 p.m., an hour after the incident.

Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet was about to take a corner when he received a full bottle of water on the left side of his face, launched from the North turn of the Parc OL in Lyon, from the first minutes of the meet.

The match was interrupted by referee Ruddy Buquet and the two teams returned to the locker room, as Payet received treatment on the pitch.

The Marseille formation benefited from a corner that his N.10 would hit when projectiles landed next to him, facts immediately reported by the referee to the delegate of the meeting.

When calm seemed to have returned, Dimitri Payet tried to put the ball down to play the corner, but was hit in the ear by a bottle of water thrown from the Lyon stand.

OM captain Dimitri Payet, lying on the ground, after being hit by a bottle thrown from a Lyon platform in Décines-Charpieu, November 21, 2021 PHILIPPE DESMAZES AFP

The Olympian captain remained on the ground for long minutes, surrounded by players from both teams and members of the Marseille medical staff.

He then returned to the locker room, an ice pack on his temple and another in the neck.

The Nice precedent

A crisis unit was quickly set up to determine whether the meeting should resume.

A possibility to which Mr. Buquet is opposed but favored by the authorities, AFP learned from a source close to this cell.

Payet was greeted by chants of insults during the warm-up, emanating from the two turns of OL supporters.

The Reunion midfielder had already been hit by a bottle during a match in Nice at the very start of the season, in August.

The match was then interrupted a quarter of an hour from the end, before being replayed behind closed doors and on neutral ground, in Troyes on October 27 (1-1).

The Riviera club had been sanctioned with a withdrawal of two points in the standings, one of which was suspended.

Marseille and Nice players clash with a suppprter from OGC Nice during the match played, then interrupted at the Allianz Riviera, August 22, 2021 Valery HACHE AFP / Archives

OGC Nice then had to play several matches behind closed doors, before additional security measures were put in place at the Allianz Riviera.

In reaction to these disturbances, the president of Olympique Lyonnais, Jean-Michel Aulas, declared himself in favor of sanctioning with a withdrawal of points the clubs whose supporters create incidents in the stadiums.

"I am one of the people who thinks that the only possible sanction to curb this state of affairs, whether at the level of players, managers, supporters, is the point penalty. It is the only one that really works fear ", then said the leader of Gones.

The 2021/2022 Ligue 1 season is marked by many incidents in the stands.

Projectile jets notably tarnished the match between Marseille and Paris SG on October 24 at the Stade Vélodrome.

© 2021 AFP