Fenerbahçe’s Mattéo Guendouzi was at the centre of a mass brawl following his team’s 2-1 victory against Lyon in Wednesday’s Champions League playoff second leg.
The encounter in France was marred by ugly scenes following the final whistle after Guendouzi, who played for Lyon’s arch-rivals Marseille between 2021 and 2024, was captured on camera taunting the home supporters.
Clashes broke out on the pitch and in the tunnel as players and staff from both sides got involved.
Guendouzi, who started and played all 90 minutes, was repeatedly booed throughout the game at the Groupama stadium by Lyon supporters. The former Arsenal midfielder had to be held by teammates as tempers flared.
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After the brawl at full-time, Guendouzi was captured shouting “Allez l’OM” towards a pitchside camera, in reference to his former club Marseille.
“The closing stages of the match were marked by high tensions following a provocative celebration by Mattéo Guendouzi in front of the Lyon supporters,” Lyon said in a statement.
A video circulating on social media showed an individual wearing a Lyon kit confronting Guendouzi as the French midfielder made his way towards the tunnel. A melee then broke out in the tunnel between both teams.
Speaking in the mixed zone after the game, Guendouzi, 27, said he felt “disrespected” by the home crowd, adding that banter “goes both ways.”
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“You know, when you’ve got 60,000 people insulting your family, your mum, your children — even before the match — and nobody from the refereeing team tells the stadium to be quiet,” he said.
“Because I know that in France, when this sort of thing happens, there comes a point where they’ll speak to the supporters and the match might be stopped. For 90 minutes — even longer if you count the warm-up — they were insulting my family. That really gets to you. If you want to banter, then it goes both ways. They insulted my mum and my family; to me, that was disrespectful.”
Asked about making the ‘Jul’ sign — a hand gesture associated with Marseille rapper Jul that represents local pride — towards the Lyon crowd, Guendouzi, who joined the Turkish outfit in January 2026 from Lazio, said: “Everyone knows I support OM; I’ve never made a secret of it. It’s just a bit of banter; they insulted my family. If we’re not allowed to do the ‘Jul’ sign in response, where does that leave us? If we can no longer celebrate however we like, I think that’s a shame.
“I’ve seen matches where Lyon players celebrate in front of the stand at the Vélodrome. It has to work both ways. As far as I’m concerned, I have the right to celebrate. There’s nothing malicious about the ‘Jul’ sign.”
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Wednesday’s result saw Fenerbahçe clinch a 3-2 aggregate win and book a place in the Champions League for the first time since 2008-09 campaign.
“I congratulate my players,” Fenerbahçe coach İsmail Kartal said after the game.
“Winning here after many years and qualifying for the Champions League is incredibly fulfilling and a source of great pride. It was extremely important for Turkish football, for the country’s ranking points, and for Fenerbahçe, the Fenerbahçe community, and our fans.”
