Burnley vs Hannover ABANDONED after crowd trouble as chairs are thrown and fans clash with police at Turf Moor | The Sun

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THE pre-season friendly between Burnley and Hannover 96 has been ABANDONED because of crowd trouble.

Seats were ripped up and launched at the home fans at Turf Moor, with riot police having to intervene as the fans clashed.

Burnley 's match against Hannover was abandoned after fans clashed at Turf MoorCredit: Getty Images - Getty

A chair was thrown at a police officer from the away endCredit: Getty Images - Getty

A fan made rude gestures in front of the policeCredit: PA:Press Association

Dramatic pictures show chairs flying through the air and officers holding up extended batons as they try and hold back a large contingent of travelling German fans.

Reports from inside the ground said that Burnley fans were forced to flee to other sections of the stadium to avoid flying missiles.

A statement from the club simply read: "Today's game has been abandoned on police advice."

Travelling fans are said to have surged towards Burnley supporters in the Cricket Field Stand.

The Clarets had been leading 1-0 at half-time through a goal from Ben Mee.

An announcement on the tannoy at the stadium said the game would be called off because of an "extreme risk" to the safety of fans.

Burnley fans left the stadium first, with Hannover fans being kept inside.

Police attempt to hold back Hannover supporters with their batonsCredit: Reuters

Hannover supporters are reported to have surged towards fans in the home endCredit: PA:Press Association

The travelling fans ripped off covering and threw seats at policeCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Sean Dyche fully supports the police's decision to abandon the match at half-time with safety being the number one priority.

He said: “We went on police advice.

“We are still kind of piecing together the details but the police decided to make a decision and we
fully support that, from myself and the team and the club.

“The referee came to see me and said he wanted us in the room just to get a feel for our general thoughts. I made it clear. It comes down to safety. The police decided to call it off and we support that.

Police decided to abandon the game because of the 'extreme risk' to fansCredit: PA:Press Association

Chaos broke out at Turf Moor with riot police having to interveneCredit: PA:Press Association

Fans clashed as police and stewards tried to diffuse the violenceCredit: PA:Press Association

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“We understand that. It’s important what the team do, but it’s not as important as people coming to a football match.

“You want safety. You don’t want people to get hurt. It’s a shame what has happened but it’s done, as simple as that.”

Burnley kick off the new Premier League campaign against Chelsea and Dyche said they may need organise another match to improve their match fitness.

He added: “We have already started the wheels in motion with the staff and will possibly have a look at getting another game in, even if it’s just for 60 minutes for players to make sure they’re topped up.

“In the bigger picture I think the lads are fit and well. I think they’ve shown some good signs in pre-season and I think there’s still more to come.”