under the influence of a point withdrawal, Montpellier sees its match against OM stopped because of fireworks thrown by its supporters

“If you don’t stop immediately, the delegate will stop the match and you know the consequences that can have.” The speaker at the Mosson stadium tried to reason with the Montpellier supporters, but some of them continued to set off fireworks on Wednesday, December 20, while the MHSC hosted Olympique de Marseille (1-1 ). The match was interrupted in the 79th minute before calm returned four minutes later, but the Hérault club, which had received a withdrawal of two points, including one suspended after throwing firecrackers against Clermont (while Montpellier led 4-2 the match had been stopped, then replayed for a 1-1 draw), could be sanctioned again.

Twelfth in the standings, Montpellier is only four points ahead of the red zone and could lose a place if the suspended point is withdrawn. Faced with this sporting issue, captain Teji Savanier and coach Michel Der Zakarian spoke directly to the Montpellier ultras to ask them to stop their throwing of pyrotechnic devices. “We put up with idiots… I don’t know what to call them. It’s tiring to fight against people who come to the stadium to set off firecrackers and smoke bombs instead of partying and cheering for the team . It’s no use”reacted the coach at the microphone of Prime Video.

Five minutes of interruption in Nice too

Nice supporters also lit smoke bombs and fireworks at the very start of the match against Lens. Barely 40 seconds after kickoff, the game was interrupted. The players remained on the pitch and exchanged passes so as not to cool down, then the match resumed in the 6th minute (final score 2-0). OGC Nice had already been sanctioned by the closure of the lower part of the stand Popular South for a match, after the use of pyrotechnic devices during the OM reception on October 21.