“Implausible scene” at La Mosson. The expression does not come from us but from the speaker of the Montpellier Hérault Sporting Club. This Sunday afternoon, the Ligue 1 match between Montpellier and Clermont Foot was suspended at the very end of the match due to a firecracker thrown a few centimeters from Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw.
“If the match does not resume, it is a disaster for the MHSC. Well done ! » declared the local announcer furiously as the two teams waited in the locker rooms for the verdict of the refereeing body and the public authorities. A crisis unit met to debrief the situation, while the Auvergnats had already returned to the locker rooms.
We were playing the first minute of added time very precisely when this incident occurred. Montpellier led four goals to two and was heading towards its first home victory when a projectile was launched near the Auvergne goalkeeper. A staggering act which will be even more so when the firecracker detonates. Mory Diaw, stunned, rushed to the ground, and was evacuated conscious on a stretcher a few minutes later. Under the dismayed gaze of Hérault president Laurent Nicollin, the referee made the decision to suspend the match. In rage, the Clermont side, Neto Borges, also gave the middle finger to the Butte Paillade stand, and took a red card, while the goalkeeper, author of an impressive match against PSG the week last, was still on the ground.
Match definitively stopped
And finally, almost an hour after the events, the referee made the decision to definitively stop the match, after consulting the opinion of the Clermont doctor, who detected trauma in Mory Diaw. At a press conference, Mr. Florent Batta indicated that he had heard the doctor say that he had noted that the goalkeeper was not able to continue” and had taken the “decision as a result to definitively interrupt the match . » We will now see if this match will be replayed or if the Auvergnats will leave La Paillade with three points on the green carpet.
After the decision, Montpellier’s security advisor was dismayed, announcing that the match had been stopped: “It’s been 40 years since I had the honor of walking on this pitch and this is the first time that I have been confronted with This type of situation has never happened to us. If there were no firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices in the stadium, there would not be this kind of problem. I therefore ask you not to add to the severity. You cannot imagine the damage that the club is suffering, it is the club that is suffering damage and it is because of your behavior. »
