The match at San Siro was halted with 15 minutes remaining as flares rained down on the pitch

 

It was more like bonfire night than a key European Championship qualifier at the San Siro on Sunday evening during Italy's encounter with Croatia.

After 75 minutes, flares and fireworks were thrown from the stands down onto the pitch, causing the referee to temporarily suspend the match as the stadium became engulfed in smoke.

Riot police attempted to restrain Croatian supporters, while Vatreni boss Niko Kovac appealed to the travelling fans to ask them to stop.

Speaking on ITV4, former Croatia boss Slaven Bilic said: "It's [crowd trouble and flares] a big problem, not only in Croatia, but definitely there."

 

UEFA are expected to launch an investigation into the events in Milan over the coming days.

Both sides were off the field for 10 minutes before returning, after emergency services had extinguished and removed the flares.

It was the second time the match had to be brought to a halt, with the game interrupted for three minutes during the first period.

On the pitch, a low drive from Lazio midfielder Antonio Candreva gave the hosts a 1-0 lead after just 11 minutes.

However, their lead didn't last for long, with Wolfsburg's Ivan Perisic equalising five minutes later, aided by an uncharacteristic error from Azzurri keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Neither side was able to find a winner, though Perisic squandered a wonderful opportunity just before the final whistle, firing agonisingly wide when he should have worked Buffon.