Fans riot as Saint-Etienne relegated from Ligue 1

30th May 2022 | Source: BBC

Saint-Etienne fans invaded the pitch and many threw flares

Saint-Etienne were relegated from Ligue 1 after losing a play-off against Auxerre in a penalty shoot-out.

The defeat sparked a pitch invasion by angry Etienne fans, with many hurling flares at the main stand and towards the players' tunnel.

Police armed with shields and batons used tear gas to disperse supporters.

The loss ends an 18-year stay in the top flight for the 10-time French champions, and a return for Auxerre after a 10-year absence.

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Auxerre's Hamza Sakhi opened the scoring before Saint-Etienne's Mahdi Camara equalised.

That took the tie to penalties. Auxerre goalkeeper Donovan Leon saved from Ryad Boudebou, giving Birama Toure the chance to make it 5-4 in the shoot-out and win it for the Ligue 2 side.

He made no mistake, and as soon as the ball nestled in the goal, fans flooded onto the pitch.

Players fled to the safety of the dressing rooms as police tried to quell the trouble.

They were just the latest ugly scenes at Saint-Etienne's Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. The club have being sanctioned several times this season for crowd trouble and Sunday's game was played with one stand closed following unrest at a game against Monaco last month.