It has been a campaign to forget for Marseille, who won the UEFA Champions League in 1993 but finished last in their group in this year's iteration of Europe's premier competition.

The club, one of the giants of French football, have struggled in the French league with an interim coach after the previous one resigned and with a new coach having just arrived.

So disillusioned are the fans that several are facing court after smashing up the club's training complex.

Considering all these problems, Marseille needed a morale-boosting win against an amateur side to reach the last 16 of the French Cup, a competition they have won 10 times.

But it went badly wrong in Perpignan.

"I'm ashamed. There are no words to describe it," Marseille defender Boubacar Kamara told broadcaster Eurosport.

"It's a fair result, there are no excuses. We are a professional team and we've made a huge mistake."

A superb free kick from midfielder Jeremy Posteraro on his 30th birthday put the minnows ahead after 20 minutes.

Marseille equalised before halftime when playmaker Dimitri Payet sent Valere Germain free down the right flank, and his cross was headed in by Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik for his third goal since joining on loan from Italian side Napoli.

That should have settled Marseille down, but Posteraro was not finished and his astute pass sent midfielder Yohan Bai clean through in the 71st to grab an unlikely winner.

Elsewhere, Canada striker Jonathan David scored late on as Lille won 3-1 at fourth-tier Corsican side GFC Ajaccio, and first-tier Angers beat amateur side Club Franciscain 5-0.

Australian Associated Press