Ligue 1 game abandoned after pitch invaders try to attack Lyon players

Ligue 1 game abandoned after pitch invaders try to attack Lyon players

Updated at 19.03

Today’s Ligue 1 clash between Bastia and Lyon was abandoned at half-time, after the home fans twice invaded the pitch and attempted to attack Lyon players.

Footage capturing the first incident showed fans descending from the stand and jumping over the advertising boards before invading the pitch during Lyon’s warm-up.

Lyon keeper Mathieu Gorgelin was caught up in a group of Bastia fans, as stewards tried to intervene and players were forced to retreat to the dressing room.

The visiting team initially refused to leave the changing rooms again, but eventually did as stewards lined up on the edge of the pitch.

Kick-off was delayed by over 50 minutes as a result of the disturbance. But after more trouble followed at the break, the decision was taken to abandon the game.

“Following the new incident at the end of the first period, the LFP decided to definitively stop the game between Bastia and Lyon,” the French professional football league (LFP) said in a statement.

Bastia, who were sitting bottom of the league going into the match, are likely to have points deducted for the latest trouble involving their supporters.

The Corsican side was previously punished in February over racist abuse directed at Nice striker Mario Balotelli.

This is the second time that the Lyon club has been caught up in crowd trouble this week.

Violent clashes took place ahead of their Europa League match against Besiktas on Thursday evening. The start of the quarter-final first leg was delayed by 45 minutes as officials tried to clear the playing area.

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The fans poured onto the pitch in an attempt to protect themselves from firecrackers and others objects raining down from the stands above.

Additional reporting by AFP

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