Game canceled in France: bottle hits Marseille star Payet on the head

Game canceled in France
Bottle hits Marseille star Payet on the head

Another scandal in the French soccer league: During the game against Lyon, Dimitri Payet from Marseille is about to take a corner kick when suddenly something hits him in the head – a bottle from the spectator block. The game is canceled – for the Marseille star, the second incident within a few months.

In French football, spectator misconduct has once again led to consequences. After the French international Dimitri Payet was hit in the head by the throwing of a full water bottle, the game between Olympique Lyon and Olympique Marseille was interrupted in the evening and finally canceled after almost two hours. The association of the French Ligue 1 (LFP) condemned the occurrences in a press release “the strongest”. Payet has therefore also become the “target of discriminatory insults”. At a time when the league was regaining its appeal, “these repeated serious incidents are destroying the image of the championship in France and internationally,” it said.

Marseille midfielder Payet was about to take a corner kick from the left in the fourth minute of the game when the bottle hit the 34-year-old behind the left ear. The game was interrupted shortly before the corner because the Lyon fans had thrown objects towards the field. The referee then sent both teams into the dressing rooms. According to information from the streaming service Dazn, the thrower was identified and then taken from the audience by security forces.

Similar incident during the game against IGC Nice

After more than an hour, the players came back to the pitch to warm up. The media reported a lack of understanding among some professionals about the decision to continue the encounter – the LFP also regretted the decision. But then there was no new kick-off. The stadium announcer announced the referee’s decision via the stadium microphone when the majority of the spectators had already left.

On August 22nd, Payet was already the victim of a bottle throw. In the game at OGC Nice, he was hit in the back and then threw the bottle back towards the audience. This was followed by a storm of space from Nice supporters and scuffles with players and supervisors.

The game that was canceled was made up for on neutral ground (1: 1). Nice had to play a ghost game. For his involvement in the scuffle, Olympique Marseille fitness trainer Pablo Fernandez has been banned for the remainder of the season until June 30, 2022. OM players Payet and Alvaro Gonzalez had been suspended. A month later, fans at the north derby between RC Lens and champions OSC Lille caused the game to be interrupted by riots.

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