Lyon's Ligue 1 clash at Bastia was delayed by nearly an hour after their players, including Memphis Depay, were attacked by angry home supporters.

As Lyon went through their final preparations for the match, Depay was confronted by a supporter before around 100 more fans invaded the pitch and attempted to attack the visiting players.

Though back-up goalkeeper Mathieu Gorgelin was allegedly hit by a home fan, most of the Lyon squad attempted to avoid or diffuse the confrontation – which comes just three days after their Europa League clash with Besiktas was delayed by fan violence. However, midfielder Jordan Ferri appeared to kick out at onrushing supporters.

After the two sides last met in November, Ex-Bastia boss Francois Ciccolini reportedly said: 'Let's settle this like men. In Corsica.' 

And as fans continued to stream from the stands to join in the violence, Lyon players and officials made their way off the field. They were chased by supporters right until they reached the tunnel.

Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas called the violence 'lamentable' and said on Twitter: 'Football is getting out of hand.'

Having reached the sanctuary of their dressing room, Depay and his team-mates initially refused to play as security attempted to restore order. After discussions between officials and security staff, however, it was decided the match would go ahead. 

Both sides re-emerged onto the field to finish their warm up more than 30 minutes after they were due to kick off, on the condition that any more violence would see the game abandoned immediately.

Ex-Lyon left-back Jeremy Berthod told OL TV: 'Bastia fans kicked balls into (goalkeeper Mathieu) Gorgelin's goal. He and Memphis tried to move them out of the way before being attacked by many SC Bastia fans. 

'The players then huddled together. Them and the staff are very shocked. The moment it happened, none of them wanted to come out of the dressing room and play this match.' 

When Lyon did take to the field for the second time they were applauded by most home supporters and each member of their squad was embraced by the club's president, Jean-Michel Aulas. 

'Bastia 1905', the supporters' group reportedly responsible for the violence, meanwhile, were booed by the rest of the stadium.

The match eventually got underway shortly before 6pm local time, with Ligue 1 officials having confirmed that they will look into the incident. 

It is not the first time this week that a match involving Lyon has been marred by violence in the stands. The French club were charged by UEFA on Friday after some of their fans clashed with Besiktas supporters, causing their Europa League clash on Thursday to be delayed by 45 minutes.