[imagesource: Agence France-Presse]

Football is back with a bang.

In the English Premier League, it’s business as usual, with Chelsea and Liverpool featuring near the top end of the table, and Newcastle and Arsenal near the bottom.

It’s good to get the Arsenal digs in before they recover and finish comfortably in mid-table.

France’s Ligue 1 has also kicked off, and the world is waiting to see when Lionel Messi makes his debut for PSG, which will hopefully come this Sunday when they take on Reims.

The biggest story from the past weekend was the ugly brawl in the 75th minute of the match between Nice and Olympique Marseille at the Allianz Riviera stadium on Sunday.

Bottles were flung, punches were thrown, and the match was eventually abandoned, reports Goal:

Members of the crowd had pelted Marseille players with objects in the lead-up to the chaotic fight, and fans charged the playing surface when forward Dimitri Payet’s responded to them after being struck near the corner flag.

At the time of the brawl, Nice led 1-0.

Officials ordered the match to continue after the melee calmed down, but Olympique Marseille’s players refused to return to the pitch.

That’s understandable when you consider how things started, with Dimitri Payet being nailed with a bottle:

Here’s what happened to #Payet.

Can understand why the Marseille players are upset…pic.twitter.com/6xz35uOcSN

— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) August 22, 2021

He responded angrily, the crowd returned fire, and all hell broke loose:

There’s a lot going on, but if you watch at around the 30-second mark, you’ll see a man in an orange bib enter the picture from the bottom right.

He clearly punches a fan in a white shirt, and that sparks ugly scenes between players from opposing teams.

A member of the crowd filmed from a different angle:

Later, images showing Marseille players sporting injuries were widely shared:

The aftermath of today’s madness in Nice 😳

According to reports, there are other Marseille players that were injured in today’s Ligue 1 match. pic.twitter.com/kQSsZQZWfi

— International Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) August 22, 2021

You wouldn’t find Bakkies Botha moaning about that post-match, but it’s still unacceptable to see the crowd burst onto the field to brawl with players.

Tribune reports that both sides have been summoned to a disciplinary hearing scheduled for tomorrow:

The south stand, where police said the trouble was concentrated, will be shut for the next four matches and anti-projectile netting erected in front of it, the most senior interior ministry official for Nice and the surrounding region said in a statement…

Marseille president Pablo Longoria said the club had decided not to continue with the match despite a decision by the soccer authorities that play should resume.

[Nice president Jean-Pierre] Revere partially blamed Payet and his team mate Alvaro Gonzales for the chaos after they retaliated by hurling bottles back at Nice fans and accused Marseille staff of hitting some of the home players.

Could be a spicy disciplinary hearing, then.

I’ve avoided any ‘Nice’ puns because this guy nailed it:

If England fans do it we’re “hooligans” and “embarrassing”, if French fans do it they’re “Nice”? Double standards https://t.co/n737pdNHIu

— Jed (@SFCJed23) August 23, 2021

Yes, sadly he did have to explain the joke to people who don’t possess a sense of humour.

[sources:goal&tribune]