Ligue 1: Lyon-Marseille clash abandoned after Dimitri Payet hit with bottle, Nice rally past Clermont-Sports News , Firstpost

Marseille’s Dimitri Payet, center, is surrounded by his staff as he leaves the field after being injured by an object thrown by a Lyon’s supporter. AP

Sunday’s Ligue 1 match between Lyon and Marseille was abandoned nearly two hours after it was interrupted when Dimitri Payet was hit by a water bottle thrown from the crowd.

Payet required treatment after being struck on the side of the head as he prepared to take a corner in the fifth minute, prompting both teams to return to the changing rooms.

It was the latest in a series of incidents that have blighted French football this season and confusion reigned after an initial decision was made to resume the game following a 90-minute delay.

“Contrary to what was announced, the referee has decided not to restart the game given the security of the players was not guaranteed,” the stadium announcer said.

Lyon players initially came back out to warm up following an announcement that play would restart, but soon headed back down the tunnel with no sign of their opponents.

“The time taken over the decision is incomprehensible,” Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas told Amazon Prime.

French league officials said they “regretted” the decision to try and restart the match. The LFP’s disciplinary committee will hold an emergency meeting on Monday.

An individual was arrested and taken into custody after being identified by stadium security cameras, police told AFP.

Payet, the Marseille captain, was also hit by a bottle during a game at Nice in August. He had been heckled by Lyon supporters while warming up before kick-off.

Nice were docked a point after the incident with Marseille, who on Wednesday were ordered to play their next home game behind closed doors after trouble during last month’s clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

The game between Nice and Marseille was halted with 15 minutes left and replayed in its entirety two months later on neutral ground in Troyes and without fans.

Gouiri scores brace in Nice’s win

Amine Gouiri scored twice as Nice rallied past Clermont 2-1 to climb to second place in the French league, 11 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain.

Against Clermont, Nice winger Gouiri equalized with a volley in the 77th. He then raised his tally to eight league goals this season by controlling a corner in the 82nd before guiding the ball into the far corner.

Clermont had a fourth straight loss to fall into the relegation zone. The hosts had dominated the first half and took the lead in the 17th when Florent Ogier headed in a free kick from Jason Berthomier.

Nice goalkeeper Walter Benitez limited the damage by saving efforts from Vital Nsimba in the fifth minute, Jim Allevinah in the seventh, Johan Gastien in the 12th and Salis Abdul Samed in the 40th.

Also Sunday, Brest earned a third straight win in the French league by stunning Lens 4-0 to move away from the relegation zone. Lens dropped to fourth place, two points behind Nice.

Benin striker Steve Mounie opened the scoring in the third minute by heading home a deflected cross from Jeremy Le Douaron.

Brest captain Brendan Chardonnet doubled the lead in the 13th by diverting in a corner with his back.

Romain Faivre notched his fifth goal this season with a curling shot from the edge of the box to make it 3-0 in the 33rd.

Le Douaron put the result beyond doubt in the 69th by holding off Kevin Danso to fire into the top corner.

Lens were down to 10 men in the 74th when substitute Arnaud Kalimuendo was sent off for a tackle from behind on Ronael Pierre-Gabriel.

Brest couldn’t win any of its first 11 games this season but recently turned a corner, defeating Monaco and Lorient.

Angers moved into sixth place by edging Lorient 1-0 with a penalty from Thomas Mangani in the 67th.

Strasbourg equalized with the last kick of the game in a 1-1 draw with Reims as substitute Jean-Ricner Bellegarde curled home a free kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Saint-Etienne remained in the relegation zone despite beating Troyes 1-0 with a powerful long-range strike from Peru defender Miguel Trauco in the 61st.

Opa Nguette came off the bench and scored twice to help bottom side Metz rally from a 2-0 deficit and draw 3-3 with Bordeaux. Nguette capitalized on a corner to net from close range in the 52nd before scoring the equalizer with a looping header in the 71st. Metz midfielder Farid Boulaya was sent off in the 68th for a poor challenge on Yacine Adli.

With inputs from AP and AFP