Football match abandoned at half-time after three red cards and player chased down tunnel

An amateur football match in France was abandoned at half-time after scenes of chaos erupted on the pitch and in the stands. The unsavoury incidents took place on Saturday during a game between ASPTT Caen and Evreux, the club Ousmane Dembele played for as a teenager, in the sixth round of the Coupe de France. Caen made a fast start, racing into a four-goal lead inside the opening 45 minutes.

Evreux were reduced to nine men, having had their goalkeeper sent off before his replacement was also shown a red card. Their manager had also been dismissed before the break and the visiting fans were furious to say the least. They stormed onto the pitch at half-time and refused to clear the field of play, forcing the match to be abandoned.

A young supporter even chased a Caen player down the tunnel as he returned to the dressing room, according to French outlet La Depeche.

Insults were hurled at the referees, who had awarded a penalty against Evreux in addition to brandishing three red cards. Fans also complained about being kicked as the situation descended into a total fiasco.

Evreux ended up withdrawing from the match, with the Caen players being informed of the decision before venturing out for the second half.

Yann Binet, the Caen president, said afterwards: "The Evreux coach told me: 'It's a shame, we apologise for the spectacle, we prefer to leave now before it gets worse'. They said they were disgusted by the refereeing.

"I don't blame the Evreux club. The party was ruined. Nothing happened between the players or the coaches."

Sporting director Laurent Dufour added: "[It is] a shame that it ended like this, but we're going to enjoy our qualification [to the next round]. We are impatiently waiting for the draw."

A disciplinary committee has been tasked with reviewing what happened, with Evreux likely to be handed some form of punishment. As of yet, it remains to be seen what that punishment will involve.

In a statement, Evreux president Samuel Brigantino said: "People outside the game began to adopt violent and insulting attitudes for several minutes. We had a lot of trouble getting the players back to the locker room in good conditions."

Evreux also promised to 'learn the lessons of this event' to avoid similar incidents of chaos happening in the future.