Football: the throwing of a bottle on Dimitri Payet puts an end to the Lyon-Marseille shock

Marseillais Dimitri Payet on the ground after receiving a bottle of water on his head from a supporter.

© Reuters

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

The Lyon-Marseille match, counting for the 14th day of French Ligue 1, was definitively stopped Sunday evening, nearly two hours after the Marseillais Dimitri Payet was hit by a bottle of water thrown by a Lyon supporter.

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New black evening for Ligue 1 on Sunday evening: the shock between Lyon and Marseille was definitively stopped after the Marseillais Dimitri Payet was hit in the face by a bottle thrown by an OL supporter, during an umpteenth incident in Ligue 1 stadiums since the start of the season.

Contrary to what had been announced, the referee decided not to restart the game, considering that the safety of the players was not guaranteed

 ", announced the speaker of Groupama Stadium in Lyon after a two-hour hiatus. .

Four minutes of play

Confusion reigned for a long time in Lyon since the decision to resume the match had yet been taken and announced almost 1:30 after the incident that caused the suspension of the match, prompting a sharp reaction from the Professional Football League.

The League regrets in these conditions the decision to resume the Olympique Lyonnais - Olympique de Marseille meeting by the Regional Prefect as was already the case for AS Saint-Étienne - Angers SCO

 ", declared the body in a press release. , while the resumption of the match had been announced.

The prefect firmly denies the statements of @LFPfr.


In no case has he made the decision to resume the match, which does not belong to him.

This decision was taken by the arbitrator, in the presence of the prefect, the vice-prosecutor, the DDSP and the club presidents.

- Prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Rhône region (@prefetrhone) November 21, 2021

The meeting was interrupted in the 4th minute: while Dimitri Payet was about to take a corner, 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.

Referee Ruddy Buquet suspended the game and the two teams returned to the locker room, while Payet received treatment on the pitch.

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.

A supporter arrested

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

A possibility that Mr. Buquet first opposed, before the resumption was announced in the stadium.

The Lyon players then returned to the field to warm up if the match resumed, when the OL supporters still in the stands sang “But where are the Marseillais” before singing a Marseillaise.

At the same time, an individual was identified by CCTV cameras and arrested in connection with these incidents, then taken into custody, AFP learned from the police.

Dimitri #Payet touched by a bottle of water thrown from the stands facing @ OL #OLOM pic.twitter.com/0Jod18GKtn

- Antoine Llorca (@antoinellorca) November 21, 2021

Even before the kick-off, Payet was greeted by chants of insults during the warm-up, emanating from the two turns of the 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.

(With AFP)

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