Lyon v Marseille suspended: Payet hit by bottle as Ligue 1 crowd trouble strikes again

Dimitri Payet was hit by a bottle thrown from the crowd early in Lyon’s home game with Marseille, causing Sunday’s big Ligue 1 clash to be suspended.

Former West Ham playmaker Payet was preparing to take a corner amid a hostile atmosphere when he was struck on the side of the head by a bottle full of liquid.

He immediately went to ground and needed treatment, prompting referee Ruddy Buquet to take the players off the pitch.

Payet left the pitch with an ice pack pressed to the side of his head.

There have been a number of major crowd trouble incidents in French football this season, starting from the opening weekend when Marseille midfielder Valentin Rongier was hit by a bottle while celebrating a goal that Payet scored against Montpellier.

Marseille and Payet were on the receiving end later in August after Nice fans hurled bottles onto the pitch. Payet was struck and hurled the bottle back into the stand, sparking a pitch invasion by Nice ultras. That match was abandoned and replayed behind closed doors at Troyes’ neutral ground in October.

It remained to be seen whether Sunday night’s game would continue, with the players still off the pitch more than half an hour after Payet was hit.

 4′  The referee has suspended the match after Dimitri Payet was hit by a loaded water bottle.#OLOM |  –  | 

— Olympique de Marseille   (@OM_English) November 21, 2021