Marseille star Dimitri Payet has been struck by a bottle thrown from the Lyon section of the crowd during the Ligue 1 clash which has been subsequently been suspended.
The France international was struck as he made his way over to take a corner just four minutes after the fixture had begun at the Groupama Stadium.
Payet immediately fell to the turf clutching his head in agony as a result of the incident.
Eventually, the former West Ham man rose to his feet to be assisted down the tunnel by Marseille's medical staff.
The match official then took the decision to halt play just minutes into the contest due to the ugly scenes sparked by the crowd.
Marseille fans reacted furiously to the incident, but this is not the first time the club nor French football as a whole has been marred by crowd trouble.
The club's recent contests against Montpellier, Nice and Angers have all seen fans tempers flare over and cause concern for the welfare of the players on the pitch.
Referee Ruddy Buquet took the step of making the potentially unpopular decision of sending all players from both sides down the tunnel until the unrest fizzled out.
Marseille's clash with OGC Nice in August was also suspended for a similar incident, though on the occasion Payet was guilty of throwing a bottle aimed at him back into the crowd.
This led to some fans trying to enter the field of play, while one member of backroom staff appeared to assault a fan who had made his way on to the pitch.
The game was eventually abandoned altogether and replayed two months later on neutral ground in Troyes and without fans.
Nice were docked one point by the French FA as a result of failing to control their support.
It clearly did not deter their home faithful, who have been forced to play their next home game behind closed doors after further crowd trouble against Paris Saint-Germain last month.
It is currently unclear when the contest between Lyon and Marseille will resume, or if Payet will be deemed fit enough to continue.
The official Marseille twitter account has said: "The referee has suspended the match after Dimitri Payet was hit by a loaded water bottle."
Arsenal legend and Prime Video pundit Thierry Henry has blasted the behaviour of fans in Ligue 1, telling the league to follow the guidance of English regulations.
After a lengthy wait for an update, Lyon confirmed the game had postponed more than an hour and a half after the incident had occurred.
