Crowd trouble mars J&K vs Punjab match

In an embarrassing incident, the Santosh Trophy quarterfinal league match between defending champions Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir was stopped in the 68thminute due to crowd trouble at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar on Saturday.

A section of the crowd, numbering around 200, crashed through the fencing and ran all over the pitch which led the players running towards the dressing room for safety and immediate stopping of the match.

The match will resume on Sunday at the same venue at 0800 hrs to complete the unfinished part of the match. The source of trouble was the clash between mediapersons and the tournament organisers, which blocked the view of the crowd when Punjab took 1-0 lead through a fabulous strike by Sukhwinder Singh in the 68th minute.

The clash between the mediapersons and the organisers for alleged misbehavior by the latter distracted the crowd who started pelting stones towards the area of commotion just as Sukhwinder scored his goal.

Angry at the turn of events, the crowd vented their frustration by jumping over the fence and invaded the pitch which led the match to be stopped by the referee.

Several officials of Jammu and Kashmir team were roughed up by the mob who also vented their anger to the security forces posted at the stadium.

Jammu and Kashmir Football Association President Zameer Ahmad Thakur at first announced that the match was abandoned.

But later, the disciplinary committee held a meeting and decided to hold the remaining part of the match at 0800 hrs on Sunday at the same venue.

"The match will resume for the remaining 22 minutes at 0800 hrs tomorrow at the same venue," Thakur said after the disciplinary committee meeting.