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CRIME

French football match abandoned after bottle thrown from crowd

A Ligue 1 football match between Lyon and Marseille was abandoned after Marseille captain Dimitri Payet was hit by a water bottle thrown from the crowd.

Published: 22 November 2021 08:52 CET
French football match abandoned after bottle thrown from crowd
Marseille captain Dmitri Payet was hit by a nottle. Photo: Philippe Desmazes/AFP

Payet required treatment after being struck on the side of the head as he prepared to take a corner in the fifth minute, prompting both teams to return to the changing rooms.

It was the latest in a series of incidents that have blighted French football this season and confusion reigned after an initial decision was made to resume the game following a 90-minute delay.

“Contrary to what was announced, the referee has decided not to restart the  game given the security of the players was not guaranteed,” the stadium announcer said.

Lyon players initially came back out to warm up following an announcement that play would restart, but soon headed back down the tunnel with no sign of their opponents.

An individual was arrested and taken into custody after being identified by stadium security cameras, police told AFP.

Payet, the Marseille captain, was also hit by a bottle during a game at Nice in August. He had been heckled by Lyon supporters while warming up before kick-off.

Nice were docked a point after the incident with Marseille, who on Wednesday were ordered to play their next home game behind closed doors after trouble during last month’s clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

The game between Nice and Marseille was halted with 15 minutes left and replayed in its entirety two months later on neutral ground in Troyes and without fans.

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

Two computers stolen from French Olympics’ organiser in Lille

Two computers belonging to "a manager responsible for the planning of the Lille Olympic site" were stolen from a car parked in the city, the prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.

Published: 1 May 2024 08:38 CEST
Two computers stolen from French Olympics' organiser in Lille

However, the spokesperson did not specify the nature of the data linked to the Olympic Games that they contained.

“The complaint from a manager responsible for the planning of the Lille Olympic site was received on the evening of April 29 regarding the theft of two laptops and a badge which were in the organiser’s vehicle, which was parked in front of their home,” said Lille prosecutor Carole Etienne.

“Investigations are underway” to identify the suspect and determine “the exact nature of the data that these computers contained in connection with the 2024 Olympics,” she added.

According to a police source, one of the stolen computers was likely to contain “security plans” for the infrastructure of the Olympic village of Villeneuve-d’Ascq in Lille.

The theft occurred Monday at around 6:30 pm, according to this source, who said that access to files hosted on the network and the cloud was blocked by the Paris 2024 IT department.

“In accordance with Paris 2024 procedures, all data recorded on Paris 2024 computer equipment is encrypted and protected by passwords, and as soon as the theft was reported, the computer was locked remotely,”  a spokesperson from the Olympics’ Organising Committee (Cojo) said.

“The security of computer equipment is one of the priorities of Paris 2024, which has taken all risks into account in order to deal with any incident,” the Committee said.

The stolen badge was “an identification badge which does not allow any door to be opened” and “the computer was turned off”, a second police source told AFP.

At the end of February, a bag belonging to an engineer from the City of Paris and containing a computer and two USB sticks where notes relating to the Paris Olympic Games were stored was stolen from a train at Gare du Nord.

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