Nice vs Marseille game abandoned after home fans invade pitch over Dimitri Payet bottle incident

Nice and Marseille saw their Ligue 1 clash abandoned on Sunday night following extraordinary scenes of crowd trouble as fans confronted players on the pitch.

The match was suspended in the second half after Marseille players clashed with home fans who had pelted them with missiles from the first whistle.

Nice supporters threw water bottles at Marseille forward Dimitri Payet when he was about to take a corner and, after the forward hurled one back at them, a full scale brawl ensued when some of the fans rushed on to the turf.

Both teams retreated to the tunnel and play was held up for over an hour before Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere appealed to Nice supporters over the sound system for calm and the home players returned to the pitch to warm up.

But angry Marseille players and staff were adamant in refusing to carry on, with French daily L'Equipe reporting that visiting players Payet, Matteo Guendouzi and Luan Peres were injured in the fighting, with riot police deployed in front of the tier packed with Nice fans.

Nice were 1-0 up when play was interrupted in the 75th minute, with Swedish striker Kasper Dolberg firing them ahead early in the second half after Marseille missed a string of first-half chances.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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