Seriously, how are people still managing to bring flares in to Euro 2016 stadiums?
Sadly, the first week of the tournament has been overshadowed by more than its fair share of negative, non-football-related headlines.
Just when we thought we could finally get back to concentrating on the football, things turned sour once again in the closing moments of Croatia's clash with Czech Republic.
As we showed you earlier, some Croatian fans - watching their team try and hold on to a 2-1 lead - hurled flares on to the pitch
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/743869145540886529
One of them exploded in a steward's hand as he attempted to remove it from the pitch. Thankfully he appeared to escape unharmed but another angle of the incident shows how dangerously close Croatian midfielder Ivan Perišić came to it.
Understandably, the explosion causes Perišić, along with referee Mark Clattenburg and teammate Mario Mandžukić, to jump. Instinctively, he shields his face from the blast and after a split second it becomes clear that he's not been harmed.
https://twitter.com/OfficialMgh/status/743869219146727424
Eventually, play resumed but it seemed that the stoppage did no favours to the Croatian team. Having dominated the game against the Czechs, they shipped an equaliser from the penalty spot in time added on.
This now means that Croatia may need a result against current European Champions Spain to guarantee progress to the next round.
He responded almost immediately A Senegalese Premier League star has responded after his nation was stripped of the Afcon title they won at the start of the year. On Tuesday evening (17 March), Senegal was stripped of the Afcon trophy and Morocco was awarded the title by an appeal board of the governing body CAF. […]
A mountain to climb. This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission on any sales generated from it. It’s a huge Champions League week, with the round of 16 second legs taking place, including Man City v Real Madrid. There are four games on Tuesday and four on Wednesday to feast your eyes […]
Action has been taken. Chelsea have been slapped with a transfer ban as well as a huge fine for multiple breaches. It was confirmed today that the Blues had been punished by the Premier League for violations committed during the Roman Abramovich era, as reported by The Athletic. The club has has also been given […]