🎥 Pitch invasion, tear gas: top-flight side face play-off | OneFootball

It wasn’t only at FC Nantes that Sunday saw chaotic scenes with a pitch invasion. Similar scenes also unfolded at OGC Nice. While Nantes have already been relegated, the club from Nice can still save itself through the playoff. But instead of support, there was a great deal of fan anger after the final whistle, and supporters stormed the pitch. 

They tried to get at the players, who quickly ran into the tunnel. Police and security staff rushed in to push back the furious fans. Fireworks were also thrown and pyrotechnics were set off. 

But the chaos was not limited to inside the stadium — it also spread outside. Fans reportedly also tried to block the players’ exit from the stadium. As images on ‘X’ show, police used tear gas.  

Nice’s president said he was shocked by the incidents and did not rule out the possibility that the second leg of the relegation playoff could be played behind closed doors. “Perhaps these incidents will lead to us playing behind closed doors, we’ll see,” Jean-Pierre Rivère told French broadcaster ‘Ligue 1+’. 

He also lamented the end of the match against Metz (0-0) and stressed: “I believe that if you support a team, you have to support it until the bitter end — after that, we’ll still have plenty of time for all the criticism in the world.” The fans apparently saw it differently. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 MIGUEL MEDINA - AFP or licensors