The giant screen of the Groupama Stadium in Lyon indicates only four short minutes of play in the clash between Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille, this Sunday evening, when OM midfielder Dimitri Payet s’ getting ready to take the first corner of the game. The Reunionese put the ball on the ground when, suddenly, a bottle of water, launched from the north turn of the stadium explodes on his head. Payet falls to the ground. The referee Ruddy Buquet then immediately interrupts the part counting for the 14th day of Ligue 1 and sends the two teams back to the locker room.
“Security is not guaranteed”
It was then necessary to wait nearly two long hours for the final end of the match to be formalized. The resumption of the meeting had, at first, been considered and even announced by the authorities. But on the Marseille side, there is no question of setting foot on the lawn of Groupama Stadium. The Lyonnais left to warm up then returned to the locker room and long minutes later, around 10:45 p.m. the ax fell: “Contrary to what had been announced, the referee decided not to restart the game, considering that the safety of the players was not guaranteed”, said the stadium announcer. It is the referee of the meeting Ruddy Buquet who decided not to resume the match “For obvious sporting reasons”. A decision “incomprehensible” for the president of the Olympique Lyonnais Jean-Michel Aulas. “From the moment the individual was arrested, the match might resume without any problem”, he explained into the microphone of broadcaster Prime Video.
The perpetrator of the bottle throw was, in fact, arrested. Asked on France Info this Monday morning, Roxana Maracineanu, Minister of Sports, welcomed this “Individual measure, that[elle] wished”, a method to which “Football is going full force”. But she also added that you have to be able to “Penalize a club because its public or its supporters have behaved badly in the stands”. The disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League (LFP) must meet urgently on Monday.
A particularly marred season
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the French championship has been marred by such a scene since the start of the season. On August 22, the French international (38 caps) had already been the target of projectile throws at the Allianz Riviera in Nice. Annoyed, Dimitri Payet responded by returning a bottle to the stands causing violent incidents between players and supporters. The meeting was then stopped and replayed behind closed doors on neutral ground in Troyes on October 27. In an interview with the team, the midfielder had criticized the too weak sanctions of the disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League (LFP). OGC Nice had been sentenced to 3 matches behind closed doors and two penalty points, one of which was suspended. Payet had taken him a suspended match. “I am a victim normally. And I was tried as a victim and a culprit. And that, I have not digested it ”, he whispered in everyday sports.
Other meetings have been the scene of incidents between supporters since the start of the season. In the North derby, between Lens and Lille, groups had clashed in the stands. Ditto during Angers-Marseille on September 22 where supporters from Angevin and Marseille fought on the lawn of the Raymond-Kopa stadium.
Update : updated on Monday, November 22, 2021 at 7:04 a.m. with the arrest of the author of the bottle throwing and the meeting of the LFP.
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