Watch: Fans storm pitch during Nice-Marseille game after Player throws bottle back into crowd

August 23, 2021 at 2:01 PM

Former West Ham star Dimitri Payet was hit by a bottle before throwing it back into the crowd as Marseille’s game at Nice was abandoned on a night of mayhem in France.
Payet was struck in the 74th minute when he was taking a corner and could now face sanctions from French football authorities after hurling it back into the stands.

Marseille fans had been targeted from sections of the Nice crowd for much of the game and in the chaos that then followed, former Arsenal star Matteo Guendouzi and Alvaro Gonzalez attempted to face down the fans.
Yet they could not stop supporters flooding the pitch and a mass brawl appeared to break out between players, fans and staff. Marseille manager Jorge Sampaoli had to be held back by players.

As a security cordon struggled to stem the flow of fans onto the pitch at the Allianz Riviera, the game was halted with Marseille leading 1-0 through Kasper Dolberg’s goal.
The match was initially suspended but, after a considerable pause, the Marseille squad refused to return to the pitch which meant the contest was officially abandoned. According to the the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) rules this means Nice have subsequently been awarded a 3-0 win (The telegraph)