Football match abandoned after fans chase referee off pitch

A Ukrainian Premier League football match has been abandoned after angry fans chased the referee off the pitch and stopped him leaving the stadium.

With their team losing 2-1 to Metalist Kharkiv after 87 minutes and incensed at what they saw as biased decisions from Dmytro Kutakov, fans of Volyn Lutsk stormed the pitch.

One supporter waved a flare as he charged toward Kutakov, who fled into the tunnel.

Local media reported that Kutakov was unable to leave the stadium for six hours because of the danger of further attacks.

Volyn condemned the "unlawful" pitch invasion but blamed Kutakov, saying the attack was "provoked by extremely biased refereeing."

Volyn, which is sixth in the league, demanded Kutakov be banned from refereeing for life. Otherwise, the club said, it would withdraw from the league.
 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.