Angry Lyon fans try to invade pitch after West Ham defeat

LYON, France - Olympique Lyonnais fans tried to invade the Groupama Stadium pitch in ugly scenes after their side were knocked out of the Europa League following a 3-0 defeat by West Ham United on Thursday.    Dozens of supporters pushed the safety barriers that were held by stewards after the final whistle following the London side's 4-1 aggregate victory.    France's Ligue 1 has been hit by a spate of fan violence this season and a Lyon game was called off in December after Olympique de Marseille's Dimitri Payet had been hit by a bottle thrown from the stands.

Nice were docked points after serious incidents during their game in August against Marseille, whose players clashed with home fans after they pelted them with missiles and stormed onto the pitch.

The northern derby between RC Lens and Lille was hit by crowd problems in September, with the start of the second half delayed after rival fans threw objects at each other before people ran onto the pitch, prompting riot police and stewards to intervene.

(Writing by Julien Pretot, editing by Ed Osmond)