Paris friendly abandoned after pitch invasion


A Paris friendly between Senegal and Ivory Coast had to be abandoned on Monday night after fans invaded the pitch at the Stade Charlety.

A group of supporters evaded security to race on to the field in the 87th minute of the 1-1 draw, forcing the match to be called off.

Video footage showed supporters climbing over barriers to race on to the pitch, with one image appearing to show Senegal defender Lamine Gassama being rugby tackled by one pink-trousered pitch invader.

As more fans left the stands the referee Tony Chapron was left with no option but to abandon the match, with both sets of players and staff hurrying down the tunnel.

Liverpool's Sadio Mane gave Senegal the lead with a second-half penalty before Cyriac Gohi Bi equalised two minutes later.

Manchester United's Eric Bailly, Everton's Idrissa Gueye and Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha were other Premier League stars involved in the match.

A match between the two sides has been abandoned before. Senegal were disqualified from the 2013 African Nations Cup because of the riot during their play-off against the Ivorians.

Missiles, stones, bottles and firecrackers were thrown on to the pitch and tear gas was used during the abandoned match in Dakar.

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