Lyon-Besiktas Europa League Match Delayed by Projectiles Thrown on to Pitch

Besiktas fans have reportedly been involved in clashes with French police and rival supporters ahead of their side's UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg match with Lyon on Thursday, delaying the game.

A report from Liam Prenderville and Alex Richards of the Daily Mirror relayed details of the unrest: "Besiktas supporters, stationed in the top tier of the stand, threw fireworks and other objects down to the lower tier, where home fans were stationed."

The report also described clashes between supporters and the authorities outside the stadium: "The incidents appear to involve Besiktas Ultras, with a large section of the travelling support wearing black t-shirts."

Prenderville and Richads also noted how: "travelling supporters also came under attack from French hooligans, who broke into the away end armed with weapons and attacked sections of the visiting support."

Meanwhile, Bleacher Report UK showed an image of projectiles being launched on to the pitch at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais:

UEFA's managing director of communications, Pedro Pinto, confirmed the match had been delayed:

The incidents outside and within Lyon's stadium occurred despite UEFA increasing security after Tuesday's explosion ahead of Borussia Dortmund's UEFA Champions League tie against Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, per the reports.

There was an explosion in front of the Dortmund team bus forcing that match to be postponed for a day, per BBC Sport.

However, the new measures were unable to control crowd disturbances on this scale before kick-off.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.