PARIS (AP) — Montpellier’s slim hopes of remaining in Ligue 1 have been damaged after the southern club was handed a loss in a match that was abandoned last month.
The game against Saint-Etienne in Montpellier was stopped when a fire broke out in a stand after flares were thrown by home fans.
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Last-placed Montpellier was trailing 2-0 when the match was abandoned in the 63rd minute. The French league disciplinary body ruled late Wednesday that the teams would not resume the game, with the final score 2-0. It also ordered the stand to be shut down until the end of the season.
In a season marking the club’s 50th anniversary, Montpellier sat rock bottom in the standings, eight points behind Saint-Etienne with just seven matches left to play. The two bottom teams are relegated at the end of the season.
Players from both teams were sent back to the locker rooms after the fire started as some Montpellier fans trashed seats in the stands. A person working at the stadium was injured and police intervened. The fire was extinguished but the game did not start again for security reasons.
Montpellier won its only Ligue 1 title in 2012. The club also won the second division in 1987 and the French Cup in 1990 with a team featuring the likes of Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc and Julio Cesar.
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