April 17 – A French Ligue 1 match between Bastia and Lyon was abandoned at the weekend after the Corsican home fans twice invaded the pitch to try and attack opposition players.
Kick-off was initially delayed by 55 minutes and although the visitors were persuaded to go ahead with the game after initially refusing to do so, a further incident as the teams tried to leave the pitch at half-time meant the game was called off.
In a statement condemning what happened, the French Football League (LFP) said: “Following the incident at the end of the first period, the LFP decided to stop SC Bastia-Olympique Lyonnais. Following the very serious incidents that occurred during the warm-up, the DDSP [Departmental Director of Public Security] had decided to play the game but to stop it at the slightest incident. The LFP condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the incidents which occurred.”
Shortly before Sunday’s scheduled kick-off time, Lyon tweeted that “Bastia fans had entered the pitch to attack the Lyon players who were finishing their warm-up.”
Further tweets from the club’s official account said: “The players all huddled together. They and the staff were all very shocked. None of them wanted to come back out of the changing room and play the match.”
Bastia fans have a reputation for unruly behaviour. In February part of their stadium was closed for three matches after a group of supporters shouted racist insults at the Nice striker Mario Balotelli the previous month.
For Lyon it was the second time in a week that they had faced hooligan problems following the crowd trouble before Thursday’s Europa League game against Besiktas.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1713610755labto1713610755ofdlr1713610755owedi1713610755sni@w1713610755ahsra1713610755w.wer1713610755dna1713610755