Marseille facing missile charge

Marseille have been charged by Uefa for the Anfield missile-throwing incident involving Marseille fans and Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard was waiting to take a corner in the first half of Wednesday's Champions League 1-0 win and was hit by an object - believed to be a cigarette lighter.

It follows a similar incident when two the teams met in September for which Marseille have been fined £12,644 for.

The French club will attend a disciplinary hearing on 11 December.

Marseille had already been charged with failing to control spectators after missiles were thrown from the stands in the match at the Velodrome, which Liverpool won 2-1.

In the latest incident Gerrard was unhurt and was praised by Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez for not retaliating.

"He is a good professional. Steven did well not to react," said Benitez.

The Reds boss added: "It is good that Uefa have acted. But the problem is that it is just one person out of thousands who decides to do something like that, so how can you control it? It is not easy to stop these things.

"It is difficult to control everyone, if someone wants to do something like this then it is hard to stop.

"You can fine the club and look for solutions afterwards, but you cannot control everything."

Gerrard headed the winner - his 30th European goal and fifth in this season's competition - in the first half to send his team through to the final 16 of the Champions League.

Earlier this month, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was given a three-match domestic ban by the Football Association for throwing a coin back into the crowd when the Premier League leaders lost in the Carling Cup to Burnley.