Saint Etienne Fans Riot, Fire Flares at Players After Ligue 2 Relegation
French soccer club Saint Etienne had a chance to stay in the top division on Sunday but lost to AJ Auxerre on penalties. That means Les Verts will be relegated to France's second division, Ligue 2. The club's fans were not happy.
After the loss, the team's supporters stormed the field in anger, going after the players and even firing flares at them. Videos and images of the incident are below.
Saint-Étienne fans stormed the pitch and threw flares at their own players after the club were relegated to Ligue 2 in the relegation playoffs
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 29, 2022
(via @tl7loire, @AdBlettery) pic.twitter.com/CpuhRhwH3K
Saint Etienne are relegated to Ligue 2… This is carnage. pic.twitter.com/qIwpvJ6zOT
— Harry (@ArryLavsTheYids) May 29, 2022
I wanted you to stay up @ASSEofficiel but turns out your fans have disgraced themselves, again.
— Matty O'Toole🇺🇦 (@MatthewHoneyma9) May 29, 2022
You should be relegated out of French. League football.
Disgrace. pic.twitter.com/NUC1rFhDKw
All hell has broken loose in France after Saint-Étienne were relegated from Ligue 1.
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) May 29, 2022
'Fans' have invaded the pitch, attacked the players and bombarded them with flares.
Some players have been injured. Truly horrific scenes.https://t.co/AysAJ1a0Mm
That's just a straight up riot. What a horrific scene.
Saint Etienne finished the season 7-20 with 11 draws and a -35 goal differential. The club's 32 points landed them 18th in the 20-team Ligue 1. The two leg playoff against Auxerre saw both matches tied 1-1 in regulation so the second went to penalties. Auxerre won 5-4 to earn a promotion from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1 while Saint Etienne will be relegated.