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Patrice Evra leaves Marseille after European football ban

November 10, 2017

Patrice Evra has left French club Marseille after being banned from European football until June 30, 2018. The veteran defender karate kicked one of the French club's fans before a recent Europa League match.

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Olympique de Marseille - Patrice Evra
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Riopa

The club confirmed that the former French international (pictured, center) would leave "by mutual consent" in a statement on Friday, minutes after European football's governing body UEFA announced the ban from their competitions. The 36-year-old must also pay a €10,000 fine.

He got in to a verbal altercation with his own fans before aiming a kick at one of them and was sent off before a match against Portuguese club Vitoria on November 2.

After the incident, Marseille president Jacques-Henri Eyraud condemned the "unacceptable behavior" of some fans who insulted the player but suspended the player and opened an internal investigation into Evra's actions. 

Patrice Evra aims a karate kick at Marseille fans
Patrice Evra was banned for this karate kick on his own fansImage: picture alliance/MAXPPP/dpa/T. Garro

France coach Didier Deschamps had his say on the incident ahead of his side's match with Wales on Friday night.

"I'm neither condemning him nor judging him," said Deschamps, for whom Evra played at Monaco and with France. "Patrice is fully aware of the consequences. It's something that you just can't do and he knows that," said Deschamps.

Evra played for Manchester United and Juventus and won 81 France caps in a highly-decorated career. It is currently unclear whether he will now hang up his boots.

mp/ng (Reuters, AFP)