Lyon’s derby date with rivals Saint-Etienne was suspended for 40 minutes after an assistant referee was hit by a projectile thrown from the crowd.
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Arch-rivals went head-to-headCoin tossed towards the pitchMatch official required treatmentFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Lyon, fresh from their dramatic Europa League defeat to Manchester United, found themselves trailing inside 10 minutes as Lucas Stassin broke the deadlock in the Derby Rhone-Alpes. He was shown a red card in the 23rd minute, which was downgraded to a yellow following a VAR review.
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The away support at Guichard Stadium were less than impressed by what they were witnessing, with an angry reaction leading to a coin being tossed from the stands which struck one of the match officials.
WHAT THE MATCH DELEGATE SAID
The game was suspended shortly before half-time, with assistant referee Mehdi Rahmouni requiring treatment. After half an hour of uncertainty, match delegate Noel Mannino told reporters: “This projectile certainly came from between the Paret stand and the Henri-Point stand, so from the visitors' sector. He (Rahmouni) decided to return to the locker room because he was a little dizzy. We called a doctor to check on him. He is not injured. He took Doliprane. After a few minutes of rest, he decided he could resume the game.”
AFPDID YOU KNOW?
A dose of paracetamol allowed Rahmouni to return to the field. The contest resumed at 10:15pm local time and was eventually played to a finish, with Mannino having noted that "if a projectile were to be thrown again, we would have a definitive stoppage of the match".
