Swedish match abandoned due to firework

A top-flight Swedish league match between IFK Gothenburg and Malmo was abandoned after 78 minutes on Wednesday when a firework exploded under the feet of substitute Tobias Sana.

Malmo winger Sana was warming up on the sidelines at the Gamla Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg when a firework that appeared to have been thrown from a section containing home supporters bounced under his feet and exploded.

Sana strode towards Gothenburg supporters before ripping a corner flag out of the ground and flinging it at the fans occupying the corner of the terrace.

Sana, who played for Gothenburg before joining Dutch side Ajax in 2012, was escorted away by security guards and the players were taken off the pitch by the referee with the score at 0-0.

After a meeting that took almost half an hour, a decision was made to abandon the game with match delegate Pelle Hoeg saying that security in the ground could not be guaranteed.

"I heard the banger, I looked over and saw Tobias Sana bend down. After that it went quickly, I blew the whistle and got the players in directly," referee Jonas Eriksson said following the announcement of the abandonment.

"I will write a report tonight and send it to the football association with the match report and it will be up to the disciplinary committee to decide," Eriksson added.