The round of 16 of the Coupe de France between Jura Sud (National 2) and Saint-Etienne (L1), played in Louhans, was interrupted about twenty minutes after smoke and fireworks were launched from the Stéphane stand.
A thick layer of smoke had fallen moments after the start of the match on the lawn and a projectile seemed to interfere with Cedric Mensah, the goalkeeper of Jura Sud, forcing the match referee, Bastien Dechepy, to ask the players to return to the locker room. .
About twenty minutes of stoppage
The match finally resumed after about twenty minutes. A rating of 5,550 supporters had been planned for this match, and 500 Saint-Etienne supporters arrived at the stadium, but some were late.
This is the second incident in the Coupe de France after the final interruption of the 32nd final between Paris FC and Lyon following the throwing of smoke and fights in the stands. Both teams have since been excluded from the competition.
In December, the government took action after a series of stadium incidents: a match will be permanently interrupted if a player or the referee is assaulted and plastic bottles have been banned.
In addition, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs must all have “anti-projection safety devices”, from the 2022-2023 season, which can be installed for certain matches on the recommendation of the prefects. Saint-Etienne is currently last in Ligue 1 and is struggling to maintain itself this season, while the club has been in the process of giving up since April 2021.
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