Wild brawl among players! Matteo Guendouzi causes complete escalation for Fenerbahce in the Champions League
Fenerbahce are in the Champions League again for the first time in 15 years. But after the win at Olympique Lyon, the situation escalates completely. The focus is on Matteo Guendouzi.
Because of his past and his ties to arch-rivals Olympique Marseille, where he played from 2021 to 2024, the Frenchman was booed and abused by Lyon supporters even during the warm-up. Guendouzi later said in the mixed zone, for the record after the scandal, that the worst insults had targeted his family, his children and his mother. He said that was the only reason he behaved so provocatively during the heated match.
"In Ligue 1, in such cases, they would speak to the fans and order them to stop, otherwise they would abandon the match. But here, for more than 90 minutes, including the warm-up phase, they shouted insults at my family, my wife, my children. That hit me deeply, it really shook me. For me, that was pure disrespect," the former Hertha BSC player said in defence of his actions during and after the game.
During the warm-up, the 27-year-old had already shown Lyon fans the middle finger. Then, after Archie Brown's goal for 2-0 in the 28th minute, he celebrated demonstratively in front of the Lyon end and hurled a few provocative gestures back at the fans. Stewards and security barriers stopped anyone getting on to the pitch even then.
Lyon staff member goes after Guendouzi - brawl in the tunnel area
The match itself only made things worse. Lyon pulled it back to 2-1 and twice thought they had scored the equaliser that would have forced extra time. VAR stepped in both times and ruled the goals out.
After the final whistle, Guendouzi celebrated exuberantly, skipping across the pitch, and furious Lyon players reacted by piling into a melee. Once things settled down, the midfielder set off on another highly personal lap of honour and clashed with the fans again. Videos show him walking towards Lyon supporters by a corner flag, sticking out his tongue and grabbing his crotch while cups fly towards him.
When his team-mates finally managed to usher him down the tunnel, Guendouzi kept celebrating with plenty of gestures. Then it kicked off completely. In the tunnel area, Guendouzi was apparently confronted by a Lyon staff member - who launched himself at the 27-year-old with a flying kick. A wild brawl then broke out between the two camps, involving numerous players from both teams.
One video, for example, shows Lois Openda, the former Bundesliga player for RB Leipzig, holding his face and then going after a security guard.
Later, Corentin Tolisso, the former Bayern Munich player and Lyon captain, tore into Guendouzi's behaviour. "He should stay humble in victory and celebrate with his team in the dressing room. It's unnecessary," Tolisso told Canal+. Guendouzi had told him "it was because the fans had insulted him. But we are insulted every weekend when we play away. We cannot react like that."
