Two Metz supporters who threw firecrackers at Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes at a match in 2016, causing it to be abandoned, could be sentenced to prison.
Portugal international Lopes suffered temporary hearing loss after fans from the Horda Frenetik ultra group threw three firecrackers onto the pitch during a Ligue 1 game in December that year.
The two men, aged 25 and 36, face prison sentences of one year, with a further 10 months suspended, for what a public prosecutor described as “harmful behaviour” and “incredibly dangerous recklessness” from “idiots who tarnish the spirit of sport and give a negative image of football,” L’Equipe reported.
The prosecutor called for the men, who have admitted throwing the firecrackers, to be given five-year stadium bans. The thrower of the third firecracker has not been identified.
Metz had been leading 1-0 when the incident occurred just before the half-hour, leading to the abandonment of the match.
They were given a two-point penalty, later reduced to a suspended three-point reduction, and lost 3-0 when the match was replayed behind closed doors last April.