MONTPELLIER, France (AP) — A French league match between bottom side Montpellier and fellow struggler Saint-Etienne was abandoned Sunday when a fire broke out in a stand after flares were thrown by home fans.
Montpellier was trailing 2-0 after Lucas Stassin scored twice for the visitors when the match was stopped by referee Francois Letexier in the 63rd minute.
Television footage showed black smoke coming from the fire. Local media reported that a person lying on the ground behind the goal line was evacuated.
Players from both teams were sent back to the locker rooms as some Montpellier fans trashed seats in the stands. The fire was extinguished but the game did not start again for security reasons, with Montpellier now potentially facing a heavy penalty.
In a season marking the club’s 50th anniversary, Montpellier sits rock bottom in the French league standings. Saint-Etienne is just one spot above in 17th place.
Back in 2023, a French league game between Montpellier and Clermont was abandoned after a firework thrown from the stands landed next to Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw, who was then stretchered off.
Montpellier won its only French league title in 2012, when it upset Paris Saint-Germain. The club also won the second division in 1987 and the French Cup in 1990 with a team featuring the likes of Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc and Julio Cesar.
But Montpellier’s ambitions this season have been significantly hampered by the significant drop in television rights revenues, preventing the club from securing the reinforcements it planned.
Saint-Etienne supporters had been banned by French authorities from traveling to Montpellier because of a high risk of violence.
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The Associated Press
