Flares halt Bosnia's tie in Norway

Adjust font size:

OSLO, Norway -- Norway and Bosnia are likely to face punishment from UEFA after their Group C qualifier was marred by crowd trouble on Saturday.

Bosnia's 2-1 victory came after the match was halted for about 30 minutes shortly after kick-off, when flares were thrown onto the pitch from the stands.

Television pictures showed flares hitting players and setting fire to an advertising board and fans smashing seats, forcing English referee Mike Riley to order the players off the pitch.

Security officers, whose number had been doubled by the Norwegian FA, who feared trouble, stormed the Bosnian fans sections from where many of the flares were apparently thrown. They escorted away some fans, while others left on their own.

The Norwegian Football Association apologized for the situation.

"We felt we were in control but these flares are very small and they got through our security checks," said Norges Fotballforbund President Sondre Kaafjord.

The FA's general secretary, Karen Espelund, put the blame on the Bosnian federation, saying that they refused to take customary tickets for away fans for the Oslo tie.

Instead, Bosnian immigrants to Norway and neighboring Sweden, some apparently angry at their federation, were among the crowd of nearly 17,000.

Some fans held up signs likening Bosnia's embattled football authorities to the mafia. Bosnia's FA is run on ethnic lines, reflecting the delicate balance between the country's two parts, the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat Federation, created after the 1992-95 war.

On alert

Kjell Hjulstad of the Oslo police department said officers were on alert for trouble overnight as police helicopters circled downtown Oslo, witnesses said.

After the 30 minute break in play the match resumed and Bosnian captain Zvjezdan Misimovic opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a deftly curled free-kick from just outside the penalty box.

Zlatan Muslimovic made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute by calmly slotting home a through ball that caught Norway napping.

Norway pressured Bosnia for much of the match but only found the net with a second-half penalty from John Carew.

Turkey top the group after their 4-1 win over second-placed Greece while Bosnia moved above Norway into third place.

Norway coach Aage Hareide said he did not want to blame the results on the fan trouble. "It was just as bad for the Bosnians...(and) I don't think that was decisive."

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

---

• D-Day historian: 'Ryan' not best war film
• German squad cancels match to mourn Enke
• Sniper execution met with grief, bitterness
• Iran slams Oxford University Neda scholarship
• Jackson estate battle highlights family rift

• Irish PM to quit over payments scandal
• NATO chief: Afghan troop increase likely
• Militants hunted as calm retuns to Basra
• Pressure on Bush to skip Olympics
• BA sending misplaced T5 baggage to Milan

• Recruiting suicide bombers (2:50)
• London was lucky (2:36)
• Cars in London rigged as bombs (3:48)
• Second explosives-packed car foun (2:32)
• Soviet culture returns (3:47)