The Europa League match between Lyon and Besiktas was delayed on Thursday evening, after home fans invaded the pitch following a number of clashes in the stands.
Hooliganism reared its ugly head as Besiktas supporters, stationed mostly in the top tier of the stand, threw fireworks and other objects down to the lower tier, where home fans were stationed.
However, 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.
As members of the Besiktas support elected to flee for safety, others fought with the intruders, in shocking scenes.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas was forced first onto the pitch and then into the stand to try to calm tensions, in a bid to restore peace and get the game underway.
Lyon club officials had already this week been forced to apologise for a "communication glitch" over ticket sales - which meant a third of all seats inside the 60,000 stadium were snapped up by Turkish fans.
Aulas on Monday had urged Lyon supporters to rally behind their team, stating: “because there will be a strong opposition and many Turks inside the stadium”.
However, no-one would have been expecting the dreadful incidents that unfolded in the stands, moments before 8pm - with the game scheduled to kickoff at 8:05pm.
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Thousands of fans - both home and away - from the lower tier sought refuge on the pitch, fearing for their safety after the vast debris that rained down on them from above.
"The match has been stopped until order is restored. For the moment it is too dangerous for the match to go ahead," said a local police spokesman.
Eventually, the game kicked off 45 minutes after its scheduled kick-off time, but after Besiktas took the lead early in the first-half through Ryan Babel, the referee was forced to hand away fans a further warning, as flares were lit in the stands - some making their way onto the pitch.
Lyon would eventually run out 2-1 winners.
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Besiktas fans had earlier clashed with police and rival French supporters ahead of the match. Fans were pictured in violent clashes with police outside the stadium.
Around 20,000 Turkish fans from across Europe had travelled to France for the fixture. As such, with many arriving without tickets, it had been clashed as 'high risk' by French police officials.
The incidents appear to involve Besiktas Ultras, with a large section of the travelling support wearing black t-shirts.The Turkish flag was waved outside the stadium with smoke bombs also let off.
Some 500 French riot control officers were stationed around the Parc Olympique Lyonnais – more than twice the number usually deployed on match days.
There were fears that many would use the quarter-final as a political statement ahead of Sunday’s referendum, concerning a new draft constitution that could increase the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Voters are being asked to decide whether to shift Turkey from a parliamentary republic to a presidential one. A 'Yes' vote would effectively hand Erdogan complete power.
The incidents come after UEFA stepped up security following events in Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmund's team bus was attacked as it made its way to their Champions League clash with Monaco. Defender Marc Bartra was taken to hospital as a result of the clash with wounds in his arm.