The meeting between OGC Nice and Olympique, last night, didn’t reach its conclusion due to serious incidents. The Eagles were leading 1-0 in the 77th minute when everything fell apart. After nearly an hour of confusion, the Marseille team refused to finish the match.
It was a beautiful celebration. Full stands, goosebump-inducing chants, a fine tribute to Kevin Anin, a former Eagle with a tragic fate. A premonitory sign of what the end of the evening had in store. A thrilling and committed match, the encounter between OGC Nice and Olympique de Marseille took a completely different turn in the 77th minute.
Dimitri Payet, Marseille’s attacking midfielder, already a victim of projectiles thrown during the match, went to take a corner in front of the ultra Nice fans’ section. However, this time the projectile hit him in the neck, causing the French player to angrily throw the bottle back into the stands. This triggered a chain reaction from his teammates and led to Nice “supporters” storming the field to confront the Marseille players. As if that weren’t enough, several players from both teams ended up in physical altercations, notably featuring Jorge Sampaoli, OM’s coach, who had to be restrained by several of his staff members, and seemed ready to take on the entire world.
A chaotic ending
In the general chaos, the various players managed to return to their locker rooms, never to re-emerge on the Marseille side. After 90 minutes of indecision, the League and local authorities decided to resume the match. This was refused by OM. The Nice players waited in vain for their return, warming up in front of stands that were already thinning out. Mr. Bastien thus blew the final whistle at 11:45 p.m.
A very sad ending for a match that might cost OGC Nice dearly. A few more closed-door games seem to be looming on the horizon for the Gym’s fans.
Simply disheartening!
