Lyon vs Marseille suspended after Dimitri Payet 'hit by a loaded water bottle'

Lyon's Ligue 1 clash with Marseille was suspended on Sunday evening after former West Ham and France midfielder Dimitri Payet was 'hit by a loaded water bottle'

Posted Monday, November 22, 2021 by Dailystar.co.uk

Dimitri Payet was 'hit by a loaded water bottle' during Marseille's Ligue 1 clash with Lyon on Sunday evening which forced the referee to suspend the match.

The 34-year-old was struck in the face while placing the ball down to take a corner just four minutes after the fixture had begun at the Groupama Stadium.

Payet was sent to the turf and clutched his head in agony, with a stretcher brought onto the playing surface with confusion over whether the fixture could continue.

Payet was then able to get back to his feet and was taken down the tunnel with medical staff, before the referee brought the game to a halt following the unwanted crowd involvement.

Marseille's French midfielder Dimitri Payet need treatment after being struck

Marseille fans were left incensed by the incident that caused the game to be stopped, with similar clashes coming in matches against Montpellier, Nice and Angers.

Sunday's Choc des Olympiques came after Metz held Marseille to a 0-0 draw before the international break, with Peter Bosz' Lyon losing 4-1 to Rennes.

Ref Ruddy Buquet made the bold call to take the 22 players back into the changing rooms after the safety breach, with a similar situation taking place in a meeting between Nice and Marseille back in August, which had to be replayed behind closed doors.

With the official Marseille account saying: "The referee has suspended the match after Dimitri Payet was hit by a loaded water bottle."

The Lyon officials said: "The players return to the locker room, the game is interrupted."

Arsenal legend and Prime Video pundit Thierry Henry hit out at the behaviour of fans in Ligue 1, telling the league to follow the guidance of English regulations.

He said: “OL-OM is the headline fixture.

"People are going to watch this. Once again, we’re going to see a match interrupted by idiots. It’s not what I want the English, Spanish and Italians to see of the French league.

“In England, people are given lifetime stadium bans. Not one month, not two months - lifetime bans.”