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
Watch: Chaos in France as flare thrown by Croatia fans explodes in steward's hand https://t.co/BGtEvlC04Z
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 17, 2016
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.
Absolutely terrifying. #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/2H6aSMNij4
— Matt (@MGH) June 17, 2016
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.
