Burnley's Friendly vs. Hannover Abandoned After Fan Unrest, Police Evacuation

A pre-season friendly between Premier League outfit Burnley and Bundesliga side Hannover 96 at Turf Moor was abandoned at half-time on Saturday due to crowd trouble.

Burnley's official Twitter account said the game was called off "on police advice." 

BBC Sport reported the trouble started in the Hannover supporters' section during the first half.

Sportsbeat's Andrew Greaves posted footage of the encounter between those in attendance, although it's not clear from the video which group of fans appear to be the instigators:

BBC Sport also provided images from Turf Moor, where police were called into action to keep the supporters apart in what should have been a friendly fixture:

Defender Ben Mee headed Burnley into a 1-0 lead before the break, but the Clarets were prevented from building on his opener by the postponement.

The Burnley Express also outlined how seats at Turf Moor were removed from their holdings and thrown by the visiting fans as they surged towards home supporters.

Greaves later provided an update from the stadium and alleged the situation could have been far more dangerous:

Saturday's unfinished match was a disappointing way for Burnley to end an unbeaten pre-season run, not to mention far-from-ideal preparation for their Premier League opener against defending champions Chelsea next Saturday.

Twitter account Football Away Days provided a glimpse at the Hannover fans' fiery march toward Turf Moor:

Hannover are preparing to make a return to the Bundesliga after gaining promotion last term, and they too will be left disappointed not to complete a valuable 90 minutes in pre-season.