“Fireworks” Cause a Match in the French League to be stopped

A French league game between Montpellier and Clermont was abandoned on Sunday after a firework thrown from the stands landed next to Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw, who was then stretchered off. Montpellier was leading 4-2 when the firework was thrown in the first minute of six minutes of injury time, and Diaw fell to the ground and received treatment before being taken off. A few minutes later, the players went back to their locker rooms. The match was then definitively called off without the remaining stoppage time being played. After Diaw fell, Clermont defender Neto Borges was shown a red card after a video replay showed him making a gesture toward the Montpellier fans. Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin told sports daily L’Equipe’s website that the person who threw the fireworks was arrested and that he would be banned from the stadium. The head of security at Montpellier Club announced that the referee decided to stop the match completely after the Clermont team doctor confirmed that Diaw had suffered a severe injury. French football has witnessed many cases of crowd riots in recent years.