Marseille hit with fine and partial stadium closure after crowd trouble

Marseille have been ordered to play their next Ligue 1 game in front of a reduced crowd following trouble at the Stade Velodrome last month.

The French league's disciplinary commission decided on the closure of the South stand for two matches, with the North stand closed for one game.

Marseille were sanctioned for fan behaviour during a 1-1 draw with Lyon on September 20. The match was suspended twice after fans threw projectiles including glass bottles onto the pitch.

Marseille had already been hit with a provisional sanction and played their previous home game against Angers in a half-empty stadium. The league said "as a consequence, the sanction will be implemented on the South stand for the Marseille vs Lorient match."

Marseille, who host Lorient on Sunday, have also been handed a suspended one-match stadium ban and a 40,000 euro (£29,400) fine.

In the match against Lyon, Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi was hit by a fire bomb but escaped uninjured and police forces were deployed in front of the Marseille fans.

There was also widespread indignation after an effigy of former Marseille player Mathieu Valbuena was hung. Valbuena was booed during the whole game on his return to the club.

With the 2016 European Championship to be held in France next year, sports secretary Thierry Braillard called for tougher security checks in stadiums after the incidents.

Marseille president Vincent Labrune has since met with the main supporters groups and safety nets separating fans from the pitch have been reintroduced inside the Velodrome.