Croatian Fans Throw Flares on Field, Nearly Hit Steward

Near the end of Croatia's match against the Czech Republic in St. Etienne today, Croatian fans began throwing flares onto the pitch. There were at least five flares burning on the pitch at one point. As stewards attempted to clear off the flares, another flare was tossed, which almost hit and exploded right next to one of the stewards. Some of the blast actually hit a Croatian player as well.

Croatian players moved to the section of the pitch where their fans were sitting and pleaded with them to stop because it looked like for a moment the referee was going to pull the players off and delay the finish of the match. The offending fans were removed, however, and eventually play resumed. This has become a growing issue as Croatian fans have been causing problems for the national team going back at least a year, now.

#Swastika at Croatia v Italy #CROITA #Euro2016Qualifiers #UEFA #Italy #Croatia pic.twitter.com/PsSlKpNIT0
— Cezar (@CezarOtelul) June 12, 2015

In June 2015, Croatia were forced to play Italy in a qualifying match for this tournament in an empty stadium because of fears of racism from their fans. When the match was actually played, it was played on a pitch with a swastika that had been chemically burned into the grass some 24-48 hours previously, and only showed up at match time. The Croatian federation called it "an obvious act of sabotage and a criminal act." They then later banned their own fans from all further Euro 2016 qualifying matches.

The flares were thrown on the pitch with about five minutes of regulation left in the match, at which point Croatia held on to a 2-1 lead. The Czech Republic had cut into the 2-0 deficit with a goal in the 75th minute, and then after the delay, they equalized in stoppage time after a hand ball in the 93rd minute. The penalty went to Tomáš Necid, who had been dropped from the starting lineup for this game. Necid absolutely hammered the penalty kick into the roof of the net to cap off the comeback and earn an unlikely draw.

[ESPN]

Last year, VICE World of Sports went inside the intense world of Serbian soccer ultras to show just how intense fans from the Balkans can be.