The trial of the man suspected of having thrown the firecracker that exploded near Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw during the Montpellier-Clermont Ligue 1 match and of the man who allegedly supplied him with the projectile was postponed Thursday to May 2, 2024.
The Montpellier Criminal Court decided to postpone this due to the unavailability of one of the defense lawyers. The two men, present in court on Thursday, will remain under judicial supervision until then, including a ban on appearing in a sports venue.
This match of the 8th day of Ligue 1 between Montpellier and Clermont on October 8 was definitively stopped in the 91st minute of play after a firecracker thrown from the stands exploded very close to the Clermont goalkeeper. The Hérault club then led 4-2.
The Auvergne goalkeeper, a Senegalese international, then lay down with his hand to one ear, before being evacuated on a stretcher. He had received one day of total incapacity for work (ITT).
On a sporting level, the match will be replayed behind closed doors on Wednesday November 29 on the pitch of the MHSC, which had a point withdrawn by the disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League (LFP).
The man suspected of having thrown the firecracker, who admitted the facts, is being prosecuted for “violence with the use or threat of a weapon leading to an ITT of less than eight days” during a sporting event and “use of rocket or fireworks in a sports arena.
The second man, suspected of having handed the firecracker to the first – which he denies -, is being prosecuted for “possession of a rocket or fireworks in a sports venue during a sporting event”.
“There is disgust, disillusionment and sadness,” regretted Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin after the incident, deploring the gesture of an “isolated person (who) can penalize a team.”
French football has been marked since the start of the season by an unprecedented list of incidents, including the rocking of the Olympique Lyonnais bus in Marseille, which led to the postponement of the OM-Lyon match and the injury of the coach. Fabio Grosso from Lyon.