Marseille defender Patrice Evra was sent off before his side's tie against Vitoria had even started after kicking out at an angry fan during the team's warm-up.
The former star was preparing for his side's group stage tie with team-mates when they were confronted pitch-side the travelling contingent.
Evra sparked the confrontation after reacting to jeers from the away end, inspiring dozens of supporters to leap over the barriers and confront him face-to-face. From there, the situation deteriorated quickly.
Footage shows Evra vaulting advertising hoardings and demanding that the fans join him pitch-side. As one angry fan sprinted towards him, the defender instinctively put out his fist and landed a punch on the aggressor's face.
Evra was quickly pulled away by his team-mates but sneaked around the group of players and executed a kung-fu style kick on an unsuspecting supporter. He was immediately sent off by match official Tamas Bognar.
The dust-up was reminiscent of the 1995 Eric Cantona incident. Manchester United’s Cantona, sent off at Selhurst Park, launched himself at a Crystal Palace fan on his way to the dressing room.
Evra was due to be on the bench for the game meaning Marseille started with 11 men, but his red card left García with just six substitutes to choose from.
Speaking about the incident after the game, Marseille manager Rudi Garcia said: 'We'll see what happened. As far as I'm concerned, I have information, but I did not see anything because I was in the dressing room.
'On the other hand, I can say two things: Patrice, given his experience, must not respond to provocations. What must also be said is that the supporter in question is not a supporter of OM.
'When we are, we do not insult one of his players. But once again, Pat has experience and he should not have reacted. I found myself with one less solution (from the bench).'
-Dailymail
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