Programme cover courtesy of the highly-recommended Footysphere.

Israeli soccer took a turn for the worst Thursday night when Hapoel Tel Aviv fans set fire to the stands in the team’s UEFA Cup qualifying match with Siroki Brijeg in Bosnia. Two were arrested and one fan was evacuated to a hospital following the incident.

After gaining a 1-0 advantage in the 14th minute, Hapoel fans celebrated by lighting torches and throwing them on the field. Local ushers threw the torches back at the crowd, setting the seats in the old stadium on fire. The UEFA observer and referee immediately ordered the game come to a halt. The Israeli fans, which were held up by local police officers before entering the stadium at the start of the game, were confronted once again with the same officers, who beat them severely with sticks.

The beating by police is rather casually and disturbingly dropped into the article, but there’s no doubt Hapoel Tel Aviv supporters have landed their team in a spot of bother. And boy, those fans do love their pyrotechnics. Check out this video from a game last season, and wonder how the television presenter manages to keep his cool with the mayhem going on behind him:

[Original story spotted on The Beautiful Game]