FLARES thrown on to the pitch of a French second tier match were lobbed back into the stand by PLAYERS as a fan protest saw the game abandoned.

Troyes hosted bottom club Valenciennes on Friday night and were drawing 1-1 when the clash was stopped in the 89th minute.

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The fan protest occurred as Troyes, owned by City Football Group who also own Manchester City, are facing the prospect of a second successive relegation.

They sit 17th in Ligue 2 having dropped down from the top flight last summer.

But the players did not react well to flares being launched on to the pitch.

And some of the Troyes team were seen throwing them back into the stands in anger.

The match was abandoned, with the home side confirming on their social media that the game would not resume.

Troyes then tweeted: “ESTAC Troyes condemns the actions of a minority of supporters following this evening’s home game against Valenciennes.

“Pyrotechnic devices were thrown from the stands on to the field on several occasions, which ultimately prevented the end of the match.

“These actions resulted in the referee having no choice but to suspend the match before its conclusion.

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“The context of fan disappointment does not excuse or mitigate this behaviour, and we now await decisions from the football authorities.”

Reacting to the scenes, one social media said: “Don’t think it’s proper for the players to throw that [flares] back at the fans 😤🤦‍♂️.”

Another added: “What has been happening in Troyes since the takeover by the City Group is infinitely sad…”

And a third replied: “The level of stupidity in Troyes, whether it’s the players or the ‘supporters’, is high.”