after the “serious incidents” of Nice-Marseille, we repeat the match, but behind closed doors

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Difficult to clear up a confusing situation to say the least. Gathered, Wednesday, September 8, in a hotel of the XVe Parisian district, the disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League (LFP) has ruled on the Nice-Marseille meeting, which was interrupted on Sunday August 22 after major incidents.

At the end of the evening, after having auditioned for nearly three and a half hours the main part of the actors of a part become farce, the authority of the LFP decreed that the meeting would be replayed on neutral ground and behind closed doors. It also inflicted on the Nice club a withdrawal of two points in the standings (including one suspended). A decision “Up to the seriousness of the incidents which had an exceptional impact”, according to Sébastien Deneux, chairman of the disciplinary committee. A way, too, to send the two clubs back to back.

Read also Incidents during Nice-Marseille: the match will be replayed behind closed doors, a firm penalty point for the Nice club

Poster of the third day of Ligue 1, the match between the Olympique gymnaste club de Nice (OGCN) and Olympique de Marseille (OM) turned sour after 74 minutes and seven seconds of play. The Aiglons then led thanks to a goal from their Swedish striker, Kasper Dolberg, after the break (1-0, 49e). In a boiling atmosphere – the public is back this season after a year and a half of absence, pandemic obliges -, the Phocéens were trying to return to the mark. If the skies of the Côte d’Azur were not disturbed by the slightest drop, the rain came from the stands.

Targets of various projectiles with his partners since the initial whistle, Marseille leader Dimitri Payet replied, sending the bottle of water he had just received on his back towards the south turn as he was about to shoot. a corner kick. A huge scuffle ensued, after dozens of Nice supporters invaded the lawn, causing a fight between fans, players and members of the management of the two teams.

The regrets of Olympique de Marseille

“The stake is not only to know if we sanction the OGC Nice [en raison des débordements] but also what we do with the result of this meeting ”, expressed to World Nicolas Hourcade, sociologist at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon and member of the national supporterism body, the day after the game. Having refused to resume the meeting, believing that their safety was not assured, the Marseillais risked losing it on the green carpet, for not having respected the rules.

Read also Incidents during the Nice-Marseille match: “We have the impression that the stadium was able to serve as an outlet even more than usual”

While the two clubs claimed the win of the game – one because he was leading, the other for having been mistreated – and the three points for the standings, the LFP body did not go in the direction neither from Nice, nor from Marseille. “It seemed more coherent to us to replay this match, expressed Sébastien Deneux. The will of the committee is to recall that the fate of a match cannot depend on the unilateral decision of a club to resume a match. “ A judgment of Salomon, which brings the two clubs to 0-0, on neutral ground and behind closed doors, in agreement with the referee of the game, Benoît Bastien, present during the hearings.

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