Marseille caused an upset in Italy and booked their place in the UEFA Cup final at the expense of 10-man Bologna thanks to a late penalty equaliser from captain Laurent Blanc to take them through on away goals.

However, a furious brawl between players of both teams marred the end of the match. A melee ensued near the tunnel as the players left the field with riot police intervening and at least one tear gas round being fired. It took several minutes to separate players and for order to be restored.

Blanc made it 1-1 four minutes from time in the second leg with a goal from the spot that gave Marseille the edge at full time after a 0-0 stalemate on their home patch.

The hosts also had Giancarlo Marocchi sent off in the 88th minute to complete a miserable night that had begun so promisingly for them when captain Michele Paramatti put them one up in the 18th minute.

He scored with a powerful shot across goal following a centre from Beppe Signori.

Blanc's penalty came after home goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli fouled forward Florian Maurice in the box.

Blanc scored at the second attempt after his first try, also successful, was ruled out by referee Markus Merk apparently for encroachment by Bologna's Swedish international Klas Ingesson.

Marseille will now meet Italian side Parma who cruised through to the final after a 2-1 home win over Atletico Madrid gave them a 5-2 aggregate victory. Goals from Abel Balbo and Enrico Chiesa were too good for Atletico despite Roberto's 64th minute header.