Soccer-Italy-Albania match interrupted after away fans set off firecrackers
Italy's World Cup qualifier at home to Albania was interrupted early in the second half on Friday when visiting fans set off firecrackers.
Italy's World Cup qualifier at home to Albania was interrupted early in the second half on Friday when visiting fans set off firecrackers.
With a cloud of smoke hanging over the pitch, the referee led the players off the field. Albanian players appealed to their supporters for calm and the match was resumed after a break of around 10 minutes.
There was also trouble in the first half of the Group G game when Italy were awarded a penalty and two firecrackers were thrown onto the pitch, forcing Daniele De Rossi to wait before he took the kick.
De Rossi eventually converted to give Italy a 12th minute lead. (Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)