Euro 2016: Czech Republic v Croatia match suspended after fans throw flares on pitch

The incident follows crowd trouble at other Euro 2016 football games

The Euro 2016 football match between Croatia and the Czech Republic was suspended mid-play after fans from the Croatian part of the stadium threw flares onto the pitch.

Croatia are liklely to face punishment from UEFA after English referee Mark Clattenburg was forced to bring proceedings to a halt in the 86th minute.

The game was stopped for around five minutes.

In videos posted to social media, a flare can be seen exploding and appeared to hurt a steward, who had to be helped to his feet by other staff. Croatian midfielder Ivan Perišić can also been seen clutching his head as the device explodes.

Fire officials came on to the pitch to extinguish the incendiary objects.

Some Croatian fans were also reportedly fighting among themselves.

Players from the Croatian team appeared to talk to members of the crowd in an attempt to calm fans and allow play to continue.

Officials in the ground also issued an appeal for calm, spoken in Croatian, over the stadium's speakers.

A UEFA spokesman confirmed to The Independent that penalities could be levied against the Eastern European nation.

He said: “Disciplinary proceedings will be opened tomorrow once UEFA has received the official reports of the match delegate and referee.”

The incident follows previous crowd trouble that has marred the tournament.

Russian fans were widely rebuked after hooligans attacked England supporters within the stadium following the meeting of the two countries in Marseilles earlier in June.

During the same game, a flare gun was fired at England fans, leading to further outcry.

The actions led to UEFA serving Russia with a suspended suspension.

Outside the grounds, there has been further violence between fans. In Lille, 36 people were arrested on Thursday as England fans clashed with police.