A new incident in French football.

In the early hours of April 21st, the heated derby between Saint-Etienne and Lyon in the 30th round of Ligue 1 had to be temporarily halted before halftime when an assistant referee was struck in the head by an object thrown from the stands.

The moment the assistant referee was hit in the head by a thrown object.

At the Geoffroy Guichard stadium, Saint-Etienne took a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from Lucas Stassin, when an unfortunate incident occurred in the 44th minute. According to French media, linesman Mehdi Rahmouni was hit in the head by a coin thrown from the stands.

Immediately, the main referee decided to send all the players off the field. An emergency meeting was held between the Ligue 1 organizers, the police, and representatives of the two clubs. After a 45-minute interruption, the match was allowed to resume. Assistant referee Rahmouni took painkillers and was able to return to duty.

However, Ligue 1 also issued a stern warning that if any more objects were thrown onto the pitch, the match would be immediately cancelled.

When the Lyon players returned to the pitch, they were met with fierce booing from the home crowd. It's worth remembering that the distance between Saint-Etienne and Lyon is only about 56 km, and the long-standing rivalry between the two teams spans decades.

Last season, Saint-Etienne did not compete in Ligue 1 due to relegation. Before kick-off, the home fans taunted their opponents by wearing Manchester United shirts, the team that had dramatically eliminated Lyon in the Europa League on April 18th.

Saint-Etienne fans wore Manchester United shirts onto the pitch to taunt Lyon.

This match is crucial for both teams. Lyon needs three points to break into the top four, while Saint-Etienne aims to escape the relegation zone.

Notably, Lyon's coach Paulo Fonseca could only sit in the stands due to serving a nine-month touchline ban after losing his temper with referee Benoit Millot during the match against Brest on March 2nd.

As the match continued, Lucas Stassin continued to shine with a second goal in the 67th minute, giving Saint-Etienne a 2-0 lead. Although Tanner Tessmann pulled one back in the 76th minute, Les Verts held firm and secured a crucial 2-1 victory.

This isn't the first time Saint-Etienne has been involved in controversy because of their fans. Last month, their match against Montpellier was abandoned midway through when home fans rioted, throwing flares that put the stadium on fire. After evacuating all the spectators, Ligue 1 decided to award Saint-Etienne a 3-0 victory.

Source: https://znews.vn/su-co-moi-o-bong-da-phap-post1547474.html