Ligue 1 match halted for 30 minutes after captain's controversial celebration

The matchup in the 12th round of Ligue 1 between Lyon and Saint-Etienne was halted for half hour as angry Saint-Etienne fans invaded the pitch following Lyon captain Nabil Fekir's controversial celebration.

The match at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Sunday was interrupted for a second time on 84 minutes, after Fekir scored the visitors' fifth goal of the match, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Lyon captain took off his jersey, ran towards the Saint-Etienne fans stands and presented it to the opponents' fans.

Fekir was shown a yellow card by referee Clement Turpin. Several angry home fans invaded the pitch, which was later cleared by riot police and security staff.

Players of both sides returned to their locker rooms following the incident.

The match resumed after half an hour for the final several minutes. Fekir, who was replaced by Jordan Ferri when returning to the pitch, could face further punishment.

However, he showed no signs of apologizing, saying that he felt no regret about his gesture.

The match was first halted just 30 seconds into the match, when Turpin called for an interruption as the stadium was filled with thick smoke coming from home fans' flares.

The 5-0 road victory kept Lyon third on Ligue 1 tables, a point ahead of Marseille, who crushed Caen with the same score on Sunday.

--IANS

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