The China Mail - Ligue 1 derby interrupted after assistant referee hit by projectile

The linesman, Mehdi Rahmouni bent over and clutched his head on the touchline as visitors Lyon were about to take a throw in at the Geoffrey-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne.

Referee Francois Letexier ordered the players off.

Broadcaster DAZN reported that the officials and representatives of the clubs and the league held a meeting in the corridors of the ground with a 45-minute deadline to decide whether to resume play or abandon the match.

After 35 minutes, Noel Mannino, the league's matchday representative, announced play would resume. According to Mannino, Rahmouni said he was not injured but dazed and took a paracetamol tablet.

"We're going to restart the game because the assistant referee feels up to restarting," said Mannino. "At the next incident, the match will be stopped for good."

Lyon fans were banned from travelling to the match between the bitter rivals. The announced attendance was 40,372 and the ground was still full as the teams re-emerged.

Once Rahmouni had recovered his dropped flag, play resumed.

After four goalless minutes of play, the referee blew for half-time and the teams trooped off again.

"It's a bit unusual," Saint-Etienne's Leo Petrot told DAZN as he returned to the changing rooms.

Saint-Etienne have been threatened with closure of the two ends of the ground after recent "massive use of pyrotechnic devices and verbal abuse" but the pitch was still swathed in smoke from the stands before kick-off.

Struggling Saint-Etienne were winning 1-0 after a 10th-minute goal by Belgian Lucas Stassin.

O.Yip--ThChM