Sports
Patrice Evra was sent off before Olympique Marseille's Europa League match at Vitoria Guimaraes.
Updated : Nov 03, 2017, 12:48 PM IST
Olympique Marseille's Patrice Evra was sent off before his team's Europa League match at Vitoria Guimaraes after he was seen aiming a kick at a fan. The Marseille defender and other players were involved in a confrontation before going on to lose to Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes.
The former Manchester United and Juventus player Evra was identified as kicking a fan in the head. The incident happened as Marseille players clashed with their own fans behind one of the goals at the Afonso Henriques stadium in Guimaraes during the warm-up for the game.
One video showed Evra climb over the advertising hoardings to talk to fans behind the goal. A number of supporters jumped down from the seating area, leading to a scuffle with stewards and officials from the Ligue 1 side. Other players climbed over the hoardings to join in the altercation.
Evra sent off before KO for kicking a fan in the face.. pic.twitter.com/eCq2ehyKCt
— Arsène's Son (@hughwizzy) November 2, 2017
Another video showed a Marseille player aiming a kick at the fans as the scuffling continued. Local media identified the player as Evra.
— Arsène's Son (@hughwizzy) November 2, 2017
European soccer body UEFA said Evra had been given a red card without any further explanation.
Marseille said after the game that Evra had been sent off over "an altercation with supporters during the warm-up", although it did not specifically mention the kick.
Marseille full back Patrice Evra was sent off before kick off for this clash with fans in Guimaraes #OM pic.twitter.com/ywgvY3BzHk
— Andy Kerr (@AndyKerrtv) November 2, 2017
French newspaper L’Equipe reported that the supporters had been jeering Evra for about half an hour while the players warmed up on the sidelines. The Frenchman initially tried to control the situation but talking to the fans but it escalated quickly.
The incident brought back memories of the infamous “Kung-Fu Kick” by Eric Cantona during Manchester United’s game against Crystal Palace at in January 1995.