Saint-Etienne vs. Marseille grudge match postponed by snow

Sat, Apr 2, 2022
Soccer News (AP)

SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) - Heavy snowfall forced the postponement of Saint-Etienne's game against rival Marseille in the French league.

Second-place Marseille had been scheduled to visit relegation-threatened Saint-Etienne on Saturday. If weather conditions improve, the game may be played Sunday.

Access to Saint-Etienne's Stade Geoffroy-Guichard was difficult, according to the hosts' website, with local authorities urging people to postpone non-essential travel.

Marseille supporters were banned from attending the game anyway by the Loire prefecture over fears of crowd trouble.

Fan violence has affected both clubs this season. Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet was hit by a bottle at Nice in August and at Lyon in November, forcing both games to be abandoned and rescheduled. In October, Saint-Etienne had to delay the kickoff of its game against Angers because of a pitch invasion and flares thrown onto the field.

Saint-Etienne - which has 10 league titles to its name, one more than Marseille - dominated French soccer during the 1960s and 1970s, with the Mediterranean club becoming one of its strongest rivals after regaining a spot in the top flight in 1966.

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