OM’s Matteo Guendouzi and Luan Peres were also pictured with marks around their neck following the altercation.
Madeline Coleman | Aug 22, 2021
French Ligue 1 match between Marseille and OGC Nice descended into chaos and was eventually suspended after fans threw a bottle that hit OM attacker Dimitri Payet.
The 34-year-old was seen hit by what appearaed to be a full plastic bottle. He reacted to the incident by throwing bottles back into the crowd. In turn, fans jumped the advertising board and stormed the field at the Allianz Riviera.
Players from both sides stepped forward to intervene, and stewards were seen trying to hold back the Nice supporters from entering the pitch, but it was too late. RMC, a French radio network, reported that three Marseille players were injured.
OM players Matteo Guendouzi and Luan Peres have been pictured with markings around their necks following the altercation. Peres has only been in France for four weeks and his new home in Marseille was reportedly previously robbed. Payet was the other player injured, who had blood drawn on his back.
Players were not the only ones involved in the heavily escalating incident. Marseille’s head coach Jorge Sampaoli was seen being restrained by his own coaching staff and players as the scene unfolded.
Nice took the lead in the 49th minute only for the incident to unfold and the competition be suspended in the 76th as Nice held a 1–0 lead. Sampaoli did not want his players to finish the match against Nice, according to RMC.
Nice players walked back onto the pitch while Marseille already had their showers, according to Nice manager Christophe Galtier.
"We need to set precedents for French football," Longoria said, per RMC. "The referee was with us, he confirmed that to us, that safety was not assured. His decision was to abandon the match, but the LFP decided to restart the match. It is not acceptable for us."
Because Marseille refused to return to the pitch, Nice was given a 3–0 victory in accordance with Ligue 1 rules.
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