A French league match between Nice and Marseille was
abandoned on Sunday due to home fans throwing projectiles and then invading the
field after an opposition player threw back a bottle he was hit with.

With about 15 minutes remaining on the clock, Marseille midfielder
Dimitri Payet was hit on the back by a bottle thrown from an area with Nice
fans, according to the videos of the incident on social media. Supporters had
earlier been warned against throwing objects by the stadium announcer.

This was not an isolated incident involving projectiles in
the match. The Nice fans had targeted Marseille players with plastic water
bottles from that section of the crowd throughout the match before one hit
Payet.

Also read: La Liga: Goals galore as Vinicius Jr brace seals draw for Real Madrid vs Levante

Payet threw the bottle back into the crowd, prompting a significant number of Nice fans to rush the field.

The referee halted the match with Nice winning 1-0 at the
time and sent the players to the locker rooms. The match had initially been suspended because of the fan violence. When it was decided to restart play, with hosts Nice 1-0 ahead, Marseille refused to return to the field.

The away team was handed a lead by a Kasper Dolberg goal.

Nice sit third on the Ligue 1 table with two wins. Marseille
are placed nineth with a single win.

The incident comes just two weeks after Marseille’s opening
3-2 win at Montpellier was held up when fans pelted the pitch with bottles in
not so dissimilar way. That game was halted with just one minute of the remaining
on the clock, after Marseille substitute Valentin Rongier was hit on the head
and Montpellier’s Florent Mollet was also hit as he prepared to take a corner.