© EuroFootball.com
The European Championship qualifying match between the national teams of Italy and Serbia was interrupted due to the hooligan behavior of the visiting supporters.
The match was delayed by 45 minutes to start, as the police struggled to restore order in the stands.
After the eleven players finally started playing, flares and other pyrotechnic devices started to be thrown onto the pitch, so the referee sent the teams back to the locker rooms after just 7 minutes. The hooligans were not calmed down by the pleas of the Serbian footballers.
Furthermore, according to reports, Serbian team fans had earlier invaded their own team's bus, where they poured their anger on the players and injured goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković, who was even hesitant about playing the game. It is said that his hatred was fueled by his recent transfer from Belgrade's "Crvena Zvezda" to the fiercest rivals "Partizan" camp.
The Serbians were disappointed by the dismissal of head coach Radomir Antić, which allegedly occurred due to a conflict with the country's football federation officials. He was replaced by Vladimir Petrović, who debuted on Friday with a shocking 1-3 defeat at home to Estonia.
Due to the hooligan behavior, Serbia's national team will likely be credited with a 0-3 loss.
"I have never seen anything like it," said Italian coach Cesare Prandelli. "It's a shame for the kids who were expecting a great game, but had to witness all of this."
Images from the interrupted match in Italy:
