August 23, (THEWILL) – The chaos that ensued in Sunday’s French top flight fixture between Nice and Marseille, as THEWILL reported, will come under review by France’s soccer governing body after the match was abandoned because of a pitch invasion.
Although the match points were allotted to the home side when Marseille players refused to return for the remainder of the tie when normalcy was restored, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), which oversees all of French football, has resolved to hold the disciplinary meeting on the occurrence.
In an official statement making this known, the LFP said: “Following the serious incidents at the OGC Nice —Olympique de Marseille game (third day of Ligue 1 Uber Eats), the Disciplinary Commission of the LFP summons the two clubs for the session on Wednesday, August 25, 2021.”
In the timeline of events leading to the invasion of the pitch, projectiles were thrown at a Marseille player and the fans crowded into the field of play after the player responded likewise.
The match was subsequently abandoned when Marseille did not return to continue the 15 minutes left.
Pablo Longoria, the President of Marseille said: “The league decided to restart the match. We decided, for the safety of our players who were attacked, to not restart the match because the safety of our players wasn’t guaranteed.
“The referee agreed with us. He confirmed to us that safety wasn’t guaranteed, he didn’t want to restart the match. But the league decided to restart. That’s unacceptable for us and that’s why we decided not to restart the match and to return to Marseille.
However, apportioning blames for what transpired, Jean-Pierre Rivere, Nice President, said: “It’s disappointing that the match ended this way. Everyone saw what happened. Our fans threw bottles, we can’t deny that.
“But I think that unfortunately, what sparked things off was the reaction of two Marseille players, to throw back the bottles. After that, it snowballed.
“I don’t think the Marseille security should have got involved on the pitch and they certainly shouldn’t have hit our players, because two of our players were hit. But that’s not the argument here.”
The responsibility for crowd control rests on the hosts and the fact that the President of Nice admits that culpability means that they bear the most responsibility for the outcome.
Since the disturbances at the Euro 2020 final in Wembley, the topic of controlling football fans has returned to focus.
It will be worth watching how the French authorities handle this disturbance.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
