Ligue 1 – Nice-OM incidents: Interruption, final stop, win by forfeit … Derrien answers questions

The poster was promising, and we expected a thrilling game. It was, but for only 75 minutes. Because the Nice – Marseille this Sunday was then punctuated by multiple incidents, ranging from the throwing of projectiles to an invasion of the field, through a general fight involving players, technical staff and supporters. Interrupted momentarily, the meeting was then stopped definitively, the Marseille players not having returned to the field to resume the game.

“These are deplorable images, catastrophic for the image of football,” breathed Bruno Derrien after watching these scenes. Joined Monday morning, the former international referee delivered, for Eurosport, his opinion on the major decisions taken during the evening. And on their consequences, because the soap opera which now opens risks being particularly long.

Should the match have been interrupted earlier?

If the meeting was electric for a long time, it really turned irrational in the 75th minute. While preparing to take a corner, Dimitri Payet – already targeted a little earlier – received a bottle in the back. After having collapsed, the Phocéen got up and sent back the object from which he had come, namely in the direction of the stands. There followed an invasion of the field and the referee, Mr. Bastien, indicated the way to the locker rooms to the players.

However, a temporary interruption could have been decided earlier. Projectiles had indeed already been launched towards the field before, in the first period in particular. “When an object is thrown onto the pitch, the referee must immediately stop the match and have the speaker broadcast a warning message”, reminds Bruno Derrien. “It’s not about waiting until there have been 4, 5 or 6 such jets. That decision has to be made on the first shot.”

These incidents echo another situation, which occurred at the start of the season. Two weeks ago, Mr. Pignard had thus interrupted Montpellier – OM in the 89th minute for similar reasons (throwing bottles in the direction of the field). The director of security for the Hérault club spoke at the microphone, to address the spectators directly and urge them not to reoffend. The meeting resumed twelve minutes later and Jorge Sampaoli’s men had held their victory to the end (2-3).

Should we opt for a resumption of the meeting?

Once the players returned to the locker room, a question was on everyone’s lips: could we expect the game to resume? The hypothesis was plausible, but the choice was not entirely up to the refereeing body. “The maintenance of order is the responsibility of the prefect, insists our consultant. The decision was necessarily collegial. The referee, the League delegates and the local authorities had to work together. “

After about an hour and a half of waiting, the referees and the Niçois returned to the meadow. But not the Marseillais, which led Mr. Bastien to register their forfeit and whistle the end of the game. “To resume the match was, in my opinion, contrary to the image of sport, regrets Bruno Derrien. To opt directly for a final stop would have marked the spirits. “ The former referee cites as an example the Bastia – Lyon of April 2017, stopped at half-time because of overflows and which had never resumed. OL were declared the winner on the green carpet and the next two SCB matches were relocated and played behind closed doors.

And now, what to expect?

The final whistle has certainly been given, but this confrontation between Gym and OM is, a priori, far from over. On Monday, the LFP announced that the two clubs were summoned before the Disciplinary Commission, which will meet on Wednesday, August 25. Bruno Derrien nevertheless warns: “We left for a long procedure because, whatever the decision, one of the two clubs will feel aggrieved.”

Can the Aiglons – who led 1-0 before the interruption and returned to the pitch, unlike the Olympians – be declared the winners on the green carpet, even though it was their supporters who would have caused the overflows? “Such an outcome would set a precedent, says the former international referee. OM could argue that the security conditions were not met to allow their players to resume the game. ” For the moment, this meeting has no winner. This does not prevent French football from appearing already as the big loser.