Chaos erupted when Marseille's Dimitri Payet threw a bottle to a section of Nice fans during a Ligue 1 match up at the Allianz Riviera Stadium. 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.
In the melee, Marseille's Alvaro Gonzalez and Matteo Guendouzi ran towards the end of the ground to face down the fans. Nice skipper Dante attempted to calm angry supporters while a security cordon of stewards, dressed in yellow vests, tried to stem the pitch invasion before a brawl broke out between players of the two teams, supporters and staff.
Marseille coach Jorge Sampaoli was seen being restrained by his staff and players before the referee escorted both teams off to the safety of the dressing room. Eighty minutes after the game was suspended Nice, who were leading through a Kasper Dolberg. In surreal scenes, with no visiting players present to take the corner, the referee blew his whistle and the match was abandoned. "The decision was taken by the authorities to resume the match, but Marseille do not want to," Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere said.
Rivere also appealed to Nice supporters over the sound system for calm and the home players returned to the pitch to warm up. Marseille's opening 3-2 win at Montpellier two weeks ago was also held up when fans pelted the pitch with bottles. That clash at Montpellier's Stade Mosson was halted in the 89th minute after Marseille substitute Valentin Rongier was hit on the head. All of his marked a second chaotic incident in the league more so due to the long awaited resumption of fans in the stadiums.