Saturday evening’s Serie A encounter between Sampdoria and Spezia was temporarily called to a halt by referee Fabio Maresca amidst trouble from the stands, which was having an effect on the pitch.
Maresca suspended play for seven minutes a few moments into the second half at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris after smoke bombs were being thrown onto the pitch from the south stand of the ground.
Visibility almost instantly became so reduced, that the official deemed the game to be unplayable and called a stop to proceedings until the players could properly see each other once again.
After eventually restarting play for a second time, Maresca issued a warning to the respective captains, Manolo Gabbiadini and Emmanuel Gyasi, that if the smoke bombs continued to make their way onto the pitch, that the game would be suspended altogether.
The message was clearly relayed and shortly afterwards, an announcement rang round the stadium, stating: “The match will be suspended at the next launch of smoke bombs.”