A game between Lyon and SC Bastia in Corsica will be played, despite Lyon players being attacked by home fans during pre-match warmups.
It was initially reported that Lyon players and coaches had refused to play after fans poured onto the field during warmups and attacked Lyon players, including Memphis Depay and goalkeeper Mathieu Gorgelin. However, the LFP - the French league governing body - has announced the match will indeed be played, forcing Lyon back out onto the field.
With the players warming up during pre-match ceremonies, Bastia fans began to kick balls into the goal manned by Lyon backup goalkeeper Gorgelin. Depay then approached the fans to ask them to stop, and one fan entered the field and approached the Dutch winger. As security swarmed that one fan, the rest spilled onto the field and began to swarm the players.
During the scrum, television cameras caught one fan throw a punch at Gorgelin.
BeIN Sports footage actually catches a man trying to attack Memphis Depay & punches thrown at a Lyon goalkeeper. https://t.co/NeL0nn1tY5
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) April 16, 2017
Initially, it was announced that due to the incident, the kickoff was delayed by 15 minutes. However, the players were eventually convinced by both Bastia and the LFP to come back out of the tunnel and play the game. Eventually, they did emerge, embraced by club president Jean-Michel Aulas, and continued to warm up. The majority of the home fans applauded as the Lyon players returned to the field, according to reports.
According to reports, the supporter group “Bastia 1905" made up the majority of the fans who spilled onto the field. The video shows fans clearly outnumbered security by a large margin. Soccer in France has become known for its recent inability to prevent fan violence both inside and outside the stadium on matchdays.
UPDATE: There was more trouble at halftime as a person engaged the Lyon goalkeeper, and a steward caused trouble with a defender. They have not decided if the match will continue.