A few months after a firework was thrown onto the pitch in the match between Montpellier and Clermont, on October 8, 2023, the alleged perpetrator as well as his accomplices found themselves before the Montpellier Criminal Court on Thursday, May 2, 2024. This incident had caused there suspension of the game while Michel der Zakarian’s side led 4-2 at the Mosson pitch.
The thrower, a 24-year-old man, will be brought before the court “violence involving the use or threat of a weapon”. An accomplice, a 22-year-old man, is charged with “possession of a rocket or firework in a sports venue during a sporting event”. Since this incident, both men were placed under judicial supervision.
The story of a nightmarish night
It was in the 91st minute of the game the projectile, launched by the individual present in the Etang-de-Thau stand, exploded near the Clermont goalkeeper, Mory Diaw. Stunned, he was then evacuated on a stretcher. The match referee decided to stop the match permanently.
A few days later, the French football disciplinary commission decided to replay the entire match. The MHSC was also sanctioned with the withdrawal of one point in the general classification as well as the partial closure of the Étang de Thau grandstand during two matches.
This “firecracker affair” marks above all the end of the good series for Montpellier who could have been number 6 in the general class with a win that night. Since that date, MHSC has had a string of poor results and ends the season with huge regrets.
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