Croatian fans caused trouble in their country’s match against the Czech Republic. A penalty allowed Tomas Necid to equalize in the 89th minute.
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A steward, and the Croatian goalscorer Ivan Perisic, were lucky to evade injury after nearly being struck by a firecracker.
Former Croatia manager Slaven Bilic warned there would be more crowd trouble after condemning the violent scenes which marred Friday’s 2-2 draw. “And the fans were not only our 12th player, but also our 13th and 14th player today, they pushed us on”.
Play had to be stopped in the closing stages of the 2-2 draw at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard in Saint-Etienne after flares were thrown on to the pitch from the Croatia end.
UEFA said later it will begin a disciplinary procedure after the incidents.
“Disciplinary proceedings will be opened tomorrow once UEFA has received the official reports of the match delegate and referee”. “They are terrorists, sports terrorists, a specific group”.
UEFA have already said they will investigate the crowd trouble.
‘This is maybe just a question about six to 10 individuals. It’s probably not the last time they’ll do it, ‘ he said.
It’s known that they have been in conflict with the Croatian Football Federation (CFF) leadership for a number of years. Though the two teams played the full 90 minutes, this act by the Croatian fans certainly has got many people thinking.
Aleksandar Holiga of the Guardian reported Croatian fans started the chaos and claim it was because they “lost faith” in the Croatian Football Federation. “Players have family and friends there, in the stands”.
Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech was under pressure nearly from the kickoff after failing to clear a back pass properly.
Croatia is routinely forced to play in empty stadiums when hosting World Cup and European Championship qualifiers after far-right chants and songs are reported to Federation Internationale de Football Association and UEFA.
The Czechs had been dismal in the first half and went into the break a goal down, leading to a stern rebuke from Vrba.
Despite an unconvincing display from Antonio Conte’s men, Eder provoked wild celebrations when he fired into the far corner from Simone Zaza’s knockdown to keep Italy’s flawless start going after an impressive opening 2-0 win over Belgium. Rakitic celebrated his goal by embracing Srna, who returned to France this week after attending his father’s funeral.
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“I’m not sure if it was a cramp or a more serious problem”, Cacic said. “Our biggest problem today was with Luka Modric”. I didn’t have much strength left and I’ve paid for it unfortunately.
