Saint-Etienne were relegated from Ligue 1 after losing a play-off against Auxerre in a penalty shoot-out.
The defeat sparked a pitch invasion by angry Etienne fans, with many hurling flares at the main stand and towards the players’ tunnel.
Police armed with shields and batons used tear gas to disperse supporters.
The loss ends an 18-year stay in the top flight for the 10-time French champions, and a return for Auxerre after a 10-year absence.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Auxerre’s Hamza Sakhi opened the scoring before Saint-Etienne’s Mahdi Camara equalised.
That took the tie to penalties. Auxerre goalkeeper Donovan Leon saved from Ryad Boudebou, giving Birama Toure the chance to make it 5-4 in the shoot-out and win it for the Ligue 2 side.
He made no mistake, and as soon as the ball nestled in the goal, fans flooded onto the pitch.
Players fled to the safety of the dressing rooms as police tried to quell the trouble.
They were just the latest ugly scenes at Saint-Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. The club have being sanctioned several times this season for crowd trouble and Sunday’s game was played with one stand closed following unrest at a game against Monaco last month.
Line-ups
Saint-Étienne
Formation 4-4-2
- 50Bernardoni
- 14SackoSubstituted forAntunes da Silvaat 58′minutes
- 2Moukoudi
- 22Mangala
- 13Trauco
- 17AouchicheSubstituted forNordinat 58′minutes
- 28YoussoufSubstituted forDiousséat 110′minutes
- 8CamaraSubstituted forMoueffekat 80′minutes
- 20Bouanga
- 21HamoumaSubstituted forBoudebouzat 80′minutes
- 10KhazriSubstituted forCrivelliat 62′minutes
Substitutes
- 3Nade
- 7Boudebouz
- 11Antunes da Silva
- 18Nordin
- 25Dioussé
- 26Sako
- 29Moueffek
- 31Crivelli
- 40Green
Auxerre
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 16Léon
- 2Arcus
- 4Mendes Júnior
- 5Pellenard
- 3Bernard
- 12TouréBooked at 89mins
- 7HeinSubstituted forSinayokoat 75′minutes
- 27TrouilletSubstituted forPerrinat 64′minutes
- 22SakhiSubstituted forCoeffat 83′minutes
- 29AutretSubstituted forDugimontat 95′minutes
- 19Charbonnier
Substitutes
- 6Ndom
- 10Perrin
- 14Ben Fredj
- 17Lloris
- 20Coeff
- 21Dugimont
- 25Sinayoko
- 26Joly
- 40De Percin
Live Text
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Match ends, Saint-Etienne 1(4), Auxerre 1(5).
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Penalty Shootout ends, Saint-Etienne 1(4), Auxerre 1(5).
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Goal! Saint-Etienne 1(4), Auxerre 1(5). Birama Touré (Auxerre) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
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Goal! Saint-Etienne 1(4), Auxerre 1(4). Denis Bouanga (Saint-Etienne) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
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Goal! Saint-Etienne 1(3), Auxerre 1(4). Gaëtan Charbonnier (Auxerre) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
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Goal! Saint-Etienne 1(3), Auxerre 1(3). Assane Dioussé (Saint-Etienne) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom right corner.
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Goal! Saint-Etienne 1(2), Auxerre 1(3). Gaetan Perrin (Auxerre) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner.
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Goal! Saint-Etienne 1(2), Auxerre 1(2). Miguel Trauco (Saint-Etienne) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.
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Goal! Saint-Etienne 1(1), Auxerre 1(2). Jubal (Auxerre) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
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Goal! Saint-Etienne 1(1), Auxerre 1(1). Arnaud Nordin (Saint-Etienne) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
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Goal! Saint-Etienne 1, Auxerre 1(1). Rémy Dugimont (Auxerre) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
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Penalty saved! Ryad Boudebouz (Saint-Etienne) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, left footed shot saved in the top right corner.
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Penalty Shootout begins Saint-Etienne 1, Auxerre 1.
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Second Half Extra Time ends, Saint-Etienne 1, Auxerre 1.
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Attempt saved. Arnaud Nordin (Saint-Etienne) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Assane Dioussé.
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Lassine Sinayoko (Auxerre) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Aïmen Moueffek (Saint-Etienne).
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Foul by Gaëtan Charbonnier (Auxerre).
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Assane Dioussé (Saint-Etienne) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Corner, Saint-Etienne. Conceded by Carlens Arcus.
