PARIS, May 30 — There was crowd trouble as fans invaded the pitch after St Etienne were relegated from Ligue 1 following a penalty shootout defeat to Auxerre in a playoff on Sunday.
The tie ended in a 2-2 aggregate draw after the second leg finished 1-1 at St Etienne's Geoffroy Guichard Stadium, before Auxerre won the shootout 5-4.
St Etienne midfielder Ryad Boudebouz was the only player to miss in the shootout.
The police used tear gas to disperse the crowd as the players went back to their respective dressing rooms after some supporters invaded the pitch and threw flares at the stands, French media reported.
St Etienne were forced to play behind closed doors earlier this month after fireworks were lit in the stands in a 4-1 home loss to Monaco in April, interrupting the game for almost half an hour.
Auxerre will replace St Etienne in the top tier, joining Toulouse and Ajaccio. Metz and Bordeaux were also relegated. — Reuters
