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The Ligue 1 clash between Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille at Groupama Stadium was interrupted on Sunday when the visitors’ Dimitri Payet was hit by a bottle thrown by the home support.
The box-office clash was goalless and just five minutes old when the 34-year-old was struck as he prepared to take a corner. The incident prompted referee Ruddy Buquet to send both teams back to the locker rooms as the game was suspended.
Payet exited the pitch with an ice pack and was deemed unfit to continue the encounter after the decision was initially made to resume over an hour on from the incident with the French league and local authorities at odds over responsibility for the decision.
“The LFP strongly condemns the violent and aggressive act against Dimitri Payet during the OL-OM match,” read a statement. Following this cowardly assault, the player was also targeted by discriminatory insults.
“Despite firm sanctions by the LFP disciplinary committee so far this season (docked points, matches behind closed doors and stand closures) and work done with government authorities to punish violent individuals more effectively, these latest incidents are a reminder that safety is the responsibility of the home club and authorities who can resume or definitively stop games.
“The league regrets the local authorities’ decision to resume in these conditions, as was also the case between AS Saint-Etienne and Angers SCO.
“Ligue 1 is currently enjoying renewed appeal on the pitch and the serious nature of these repeat incidents destroy the French league’s international image.
“The LFP’s disciplinary committee will hold an emergency meeting on Monday after these extremely serious developments.”
A second decision was taken to not resume and this is just the latest in a string of unsavory incidents which have marred an attractive French season. Of note, OGC Nice’s clash with Marseille was…
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Source : cbssports
