Watch: Bottles Thrown, Brawl As French Football Match Descends Into Chaos
A French Ligue 1 match between Nice and Marseille descended into absolute chaos after fans of the home side invaded the pitch and angrily confronted opposition players.
Highlights
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French Ligue 1 match between Nice and Marseille descended into chaos
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The match had to be abandoned
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The video of the ugly scenes at the Allianz Riviera Stadium went viral
A French Ligue 1 match between Nice and Marseille descended into absolute chaos and had to be abandoned. It all started with Nice fans started throwing bottles at the opposition players. Marseille and French star Dimitri Payet returned the favour by tossing a bottle back at the crowd in the stadium. That only infuriated the home fans more who then made their way onto the pitch. A security cordon of stewards, dressed in yellow vests, tried to stop the fans from getting on the pitch before a brawl broke out between players of the two teams, supporters and staff.
The video of the ugly scenes at the Allianz Riviera Stadium went viral on social media:
Nice Marseille kicking off!! pic.twitter.com/9eo12660gh
— Gunner (@Gunnerball66) August 22, 2021
Marseille eventually refused to restart the match with club officials claiming their players' safety could not be guaranteed.
"The decision was taken by the authorities to resume the match, but Marseille do not want to," Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere told broadcaster Prime Video.Â
Marseille president Pablo Longoria claimed that the team's players were attacked.
"Our players were attacked," said Marseille president Pablo Longoria.
"The league wanted the match to restart. We decided for the safety of our players, who were attacked during the pitch invasion, not to resume because the safety of our players was not guaranteed."
"The referee was with us, he confirmed to  Jorge Sampaoli and me that safety was not guaranteed and decided to stop the game."
(With AFP inputs)
Marseille