Patrice Evra fired by Marseille for kicking fan

The 36-year-old defender also received a seven-month suspension from Uefa

Patrice Evra has been fired by Marseille for kicking one his own team's fans before a Europa League game. Luis Vieira/ AP Photo

Patrice Evra has been sacked by Marseille, eight days after he kicked a fan of the Ligue 1 club before a Europa League match.

The defender, who has been suspended by Uefa for seven months, was also fined €10,000 (Dh42,850) by European football’s governing body.

Evra got into an verbal altercation with fans before the French club took on Portuguese club Vitoria on November 2.

A video emerged of the 36-year-old player appearing to kick a fan before being pulled away by a teammate. Evra, who was a substitute for Marseille, was sent off before the game began.

Marseille announced they had terminated Evra’s contract with immediate effect shortly after Uefa announced his suspension until June 2018.

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The French club said Evra had "committed an irreparable act by responding to provocations from a handful of individuals. Nothing justified such a reaction, especially from a senior player.

"In that context...both parties agreed to end the collaboration by mutual consent.

"This incident also highlighted the unacceptable attitude of a small number of people who uttered insults and threats of violence towards the player and his family before contemptuously invading the pitch.

"Such behaviour, which exposes the club to sanctions, has no place in the stands of a football stadium and at Marseille in particular," the club said on a statement on its website.

Marseille were fined €25,000 euros for a pitch invasion by its fans, who were reported to have insulted Evra during the altercation.

"There's a lot of sadness today. First of all for Patrice Evra, who has obviously understood all the consequences of his act and that he can no longer fulfil his passion [of playing] for Marseille," Marseille president Jacques-Henri Eyraud said. "For Marseille fans, too, who are stigmatised by the irresponsible behaviour from a handful of them."

Evra, a former Manchester United player, was captain of France’s 2010 World Cup squad. However, he was later blamed for being the leader of a training-ground strike and received a five-game ban from the French Football Federation upon his return from South Africa.