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Updated November 11th, 2019 at 14:55 IST

Ligue 1: Supporters attack Lyon bus ahead of Marseille clash

Ligue 1: Marseille fans attack Lyon bus ahead of their game with the antics continuing during the game with several object hurled at the Lyon players throughout

Reported by: Sujay Chakraborty
Ligue 1
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The Ligue 1 match between Olympique Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais was overshadowed by the behaviour of the home crowd as the Marseille fans attacked the Lyon bus with stones, bottles and other objects ahead of the game.

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Ligue 1: Marseille fans cause off-field trouble

The build-up to the game between Marseille and Lyon was focused on former Marseille boss Rudi Garcia's return to the Stade Velodrome after his controversial decision to join Lyon as a coach, but it is more likely to be remembered for the ugly scenes prior to the match. Home supporters attacked the Lyon bus with stones, bottles and other projectiles on its way to the stadium. The Lyon team bus was left with two shattered windows by the pre-game ambush, with club president Jean-Michel Aulas threatening to pull his team out of the match if anything else happened.

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Ligue 1: More trouble during the match

The off-field controversy soon found its way onto the field as visiting players were repeatedly bombarded with objects thrown from the crowd while taking corners during the match. The match was also suspended for two minutes in the second half due to the amount of smoke coming from pyrotechnics interrupted the game repeatedly. 

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Marseille were awarded a penalty in the 13th minute for a clear handball by Thiago Mendes before Leo Dubois collapsed to the floor after apparently being slapped by Marseille forward Dario Benedetto as the players waited for the penalty to be taken with a VAR check deciding against sending off the Marseille forward.

Lyon players' night just kept on getting bad to worse with their players having to avoid various items, including plastic bags and cups, thrown from the stands. Marseille managed to hold on with 10-man despite some late Lyon pressure to end the game at 2-1 to Marseille.

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Ligue 1: Hostility, a step too far?

In the aftermath, Lyon published photos of several smashed windows on its bus and tweeted that the safety of players was not sufficiently ensured for the journey despite earlier threats against them. Lyon club Aulas said around five objects hit the bus.

Rudi Garcia's Lyon remain 14th in the table, only four points above the relegation zone and such off-field antics do not help the players' morale in shape or form. 

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Published November 11th, 2019 at 12:33 IST

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