Calls for calm were therefore not enough.
The football clasico was hot.
On and off the pitch.
The supporters of Olympique de Marseille sent a message to the Professional Football League (LFP) on Sunday before the start of the OM-PSG match, with a huge “LFP MERDA” tifo deployed at the Stade Vélodrome.
The tifo, installed throughout the North Bend of the Vélodrome, was revealed when the players entered the field.
On the other side of the stadium, in the South Turn, a large number of smoke bombs were ignited.
OM has already been sanctioned twice this season by the LFP disciplinary committee for incidents in the stands, first after the Nice-OM match on August 22, then after the one played in Angers on September 22.
Since this match, OM is under the threat of a withdrawal of one point in the standings in the event of a repeat offense.
In the first period, the match was very briefly interrupted because of a few projectiles thrown in the direction of a corner post, where the Parisian Neymar was about to strike.
The stadium announcer made an announcement on the microphone, warning that the match could be stopped in the event of a repeat.
🔥 #OMPSG pic.twitter.com/RqiILpOcM8
- Benjamin Quarez (@B_Quarez) October 24, 2021
During the first half, “hundreds of people tried to enter” the stadium despite the doors closed, requiring the intervention of the police, said the police headquarters.
Tear gas was fired, and a commissioner was injured "in the face" and taken to hospital, added the prefecture without specifying the seriousness of his injuries.
During the second half, a supporter played the safety of the stadium to enter the field and approach Messi.
Before the game, a person was also arrested for throwing two smoke bombs in the direction of the Paris SG bus, without reaching its target, according to the same source.
Friday, the president of the club Pablo Longoria had launched an appeal for calm so that the match of Sunday remains "a moment of football".
A speech taken up since by Dimitri Payet.
They were not listened to.