French football witnessed more ugly scenes in Sunday’s ‘Le Classique’ fixture between Marseille and PSG as Lionel Messi was chased by a pitch invader and Neymar needed protection from being pelted by objects.
The latest installment of the biggest rivalry in Ligue 1 ended in a 0-0 draw at the Stade Velodrome, where the visitors were forced to play most of the second half with 10 men after Achraf Hakimi was sent off on 57 minutes.
League leaders PSG settled for a point but had been looking to catch Marseille out on the counter-attack in the 73rd minute when Messi raced forward with the ball, then cutting inside as he approached the opposition penalty area.
It was territory from which the Argentine has punished rivals so often down the years, but on this occasion the attack was forced to an unexpected halt as a white-jacketed pitch invader tore up the pitch towards him, eventually catching up as play was stopped.
The fan appeared to put his arm around Messi before security staff arrived and removed him from the pitch.
“What is this nonsense? Where is the security?” commented one angry fan on social media.
The popular 'Get French Football News' Twitter account called the incident "flabbergasting."
It wasn’t the only disruption on a fiery night in the South of France.
Brazilian ace Neymar had to be surrounded by riot shields to protect him from being pelted by objects from the home crowd when he took corners before being substituted in the 83rd minute.
The fixture ended goalless after both teams had strikes ruled out for offside in an eventful first half. The result means Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG are still seven points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table with 28 points, ahead of Lens in second.
Marseille, managed by Argentine Jorge Sampaoli, lie fourth with 18 points from their 10 games.
Marseille will play their next fixture on Wednesday against third-placed Nice, which will be a re-run of the match which was abandoned amid serious crowd trouble between the local rivals back in August.
That was part of a series of unsavory scenes in French football this season.
In September, the northern derby between Lens and Lille was overshadowed by a pitch invasion that delayed the start of the second half, and one fan was said to have masturbated in the direction of rival supporters in the stands.
Also on rt.com ‘Masturbation’ in the stands & trainers punching fans: Violent France is the shame of EuropeSupporters invaded the pitch at the game between Angers and Marseille, while stones were hurled at a bus taking Bordeaux fans to their match in Montpellier, with more than a dozen minor injuries reported.
On Saturday, the clash between Saint-Etienne and Angers was delayed by an hour when angry home fans protested their team’s winless start to the season.