Euro 2016 qualifier abandoned after Serbian striker rips down Albanian flag that was flown over the pitch on a drone, sparking huge brawl between the players

The politically-charged Euro 2016 qualifier was halted after Serbian defender Stefan Mitrovic (left) pulled down the flag - leading to fights between players and officials and havoc in the Partizan Stadium’s stands. European football governing body Uefa banned Albania fans from attending the game in Belgrade but elected to allow the two countries to face each other, despite long-standing political tensions. 

Pictured: Serbian Dusan Tadic at the centre of a scuffle with teammate Aleksandar Kolarov (top right), riot police and fans clash in the stands (bottom right), and supporters and players clash on the pitch (centre).

After a delay of around half an hour, English referee Martin Atkinson abandoned the game, with the score at 0-0.

Uefa delegate Harry Been said: 'It is a regretful situation on which we will report; the referee, myself and the security advisor. The circumstances were such that we couldn’t continue the match.

'You all saw what happened and I cannot comment on who is to blame or what to blame. I will submit a report with my colleagues to Uefa and Uefa will decide what will happen further.'

Serbian defender Branislav Ivanović, who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, said:

'What happened is something we can't comprehend at the moment.

‘All I can say is that we wanted to carry on. We shielded the Albanian players every step of the way in the tunnel.

 The Albanian team said they were unfit physically and mentally to carry on after talking to the officials.'

The Albanian flag - with the map of Kosovo accompanying it - was flown over the field in Belgrade

Serbian riot police try to contain the home supporters after fighting broke out in the pitch and the stands - it is not known whether the fans shown in this picture were involved in the disorder

A remote-controller drone was used to show off the flag, before being pulled down by Aleksander Mitrovic

A remote-controller drone was used to show off the flag, before being pulled down by Aleksander Mitrovic

Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic walks from the pitch with his head bowed on a disgraceful night

SERBIA-ALBANIA: THE HISTORY
Albanian fans were banned from attending the match between the two Balkan rival nations, due to the turbulent relations between the two.

These have mainly surrounded the over the former ethnic Albanian-dominated Serbian province of Kosovo.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but this is not recognised by Serbia.

Nato waged a 78-day air war in 1999 to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo by Serbian forces fighting a two-year counter-insurgency war.