Nice Handed Two-Point Penalty For Crowd Trouble

Written by Olugbenga Olonade

Ligue 1 club, OGC Nice have been handed a a two-point penalty, with one suspended, following acts of violence by fans of the French club in last month’s Ligue 1 clash against Marseille.

The match between Nice and Marseille on August 22 had to be abandoned due to a pitch invasion by mostly Nice ultras after Marseille forward, Dimitri Payet, threw a bottle that was thrown at him back into the stands.

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The league’s disciplinary body met on Wednesday and also came to the decision that the match should be replayed at a neutral venue, behind closed doors, as revealed in a statement.

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The match between both sides was halted in the 75th minute with the score line at 1-0 in favour of the home side, bust despite rumors that Nice would be awarded a 3-0 win largely due to the fact that the team returned to the pitch after the fracas, a move that the Olympique Marseille players strongly rejected.

Nice has since played its next game against Bordeaux behind closed doors and will be required to play another match under the same conditions before the replay of the Marseille match. Local authorities have also ordered a four-match closure of the stand where the trouble started.

The point penalty means that Nice, who were originally in fourth place, will drop to sixth, a point behind Marseille who sit in fifth place with seven points.

Meanwhile…

Nice have responded to the sanctions meted on the club by the league’s disciplinary body by pointing fingers at Marseille’s actions during the fracas that occurred when both sides met on August 22.

The club, according to L’Equipe, cited the behaviour of certain members of the Marseille squad, in particular, midfielder, Matteo Guendouzi’s crowd provocation and what was described as “uncontrollable attitudes” of manager, Jorge Sampaoli and team physio, Pablo Hernandez, who received a ten-month touchline ban for hitting a Nice supporter.

The club felt that the pitch invasion was under the control of the security agents at the stadium before Marseille defender, Alvaro Gonzalez provoked a second reaction from the Nice ultras.

The club also maintained that there was adequate security for the match to have continued safely, a suggestion that was dismissed by the league’s disciplinary body.

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Olugbenga Olonade

I’m Olugbenga and I have a passion for writing. I enjoy writing about sports, football especially and I take pleasure in immersing myself in learning about new and exciting areas. I’ve written for over a decade but about nine years, professionally. I enjoy watching football and talking about sports in general just as much as researching any given topic in order to create exciting and engaging content.

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