This isn’t good to see.
Everton’s Europa League tie was briefly stopped on Thursday evening. The Toffees hosted Croatian side Hajduk Split in the first leg of a qualifier for the tournament, and impressed in the first half, scoring twice and taking command of the tie.
Before the match, new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson was presented to the crowd at Goodison Park, and another new signing opened the scoring for Ronald Koeman’s team.
Michael Keane scored with a header at the back post.
💪🏼 | @michaelkeane04 opens his #EFC account! #EFCmatchday
Watch live – https://t.co/hn1NIfsyYH pic.twitter.com/lOwHHMKCiO
— Everton (@Everton) August 17, 2017
Idrissa Gana Gueye then made it 2-0, after Wayne Rooney picked him out with a nice pass.
⚽️ | @DavyKlaassen ➡️ @WayneRooney ➡️ @IGanaGueye! #EFCmatchday
Watch live – https://t.co/hn1NIfsyYH pic.twitter.com/v3pxBV31ND
— Everton (@Everton) August 17, 2017
However, the first half was marred by ugly scenes just after Everton’s first goal.
Some of the away fans threw objects onto the pitch, forcing the referee to halt the game as police and stewards attempted to get the situation under control.
Objects continuing to be thrown from the away section at the #EFC fans in the Park End
— Greg O'Keeffe (@GregOK) August 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/philkecho/status/898267662907654144
You can watch a video of the incident here. The game resumed within a few minutes, and Everton took a 2-0 lead into half-time.
🙈#HajdukSplit game on hold pic.twitter.com/zXcoZ1tmvd
— CroatianSports (@CroatianSoccer) August 17, 2017