Sports / Soccer |
Nancy reach last 32 despite crowd trouble(Reuters)Updated: 2006-12-01 15:34 PARIS, Nov 30 - AS Nancy reached the UEFA Cup last 32 when they beat Feyenoord 3-0 in Group E on Thursday in a match which was suspended for more than 30 minutes because of crowd trouble. Smoke on the pitch, caused by tear gas, forced the players off with 12 minutes remaining but they later returned to complete the match in front of a largely empty stadium. "I understood that the match was suspended because our goalkeeper Henk Timmer and maybe also the linesman were bothered by tear gas used by the police in the stadium," Feyenoord's financial director Onno Jacobs told RTL7-TV. Live television pictures showed moderate crowd trouble in the Feyenoord end throughout the game. "The Feyenoord fans are responsible for these troubles. After 15 minutes of play, they were trying to break through their enclosure and the police were forced to fire tear gas," a Nancy spokesman told RMC radio. "Some players, especially Feyenoord's goalkeeper, were indisposed. The referee considered the players' safety was not guaranteed so he sent both teams to the dressing room." Nancy top the group with seven points from three games, the same as English side Blackburn Rovers. Feyenoord are fourth on two points and need to beat Wisla Krakow in their last game on December 13 to progress as the third-placed team. The Ligue 1 side grabbed the three points courtesy of Sebastien Puygrenier, a Luiz Andre Bahia own goal and a Moncef Zerka penalty. Feyenoord were reduced to 10 men when defender Royston Drenthe was sent off on 61 minutes while Pierre van Hooijdonk had a late penalty saved after the players returned to the field.
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