Marcus Chan
A Belgian Pro League match was abruptly stopped with 87 minutes on the clock after a bizarre incident.
On Friday night, Standard Liege and Royal Antwerp faced off in a Belgian Pro League clash held at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne.
During the first minute of the match, Standard Liege took the lead through Rafik Said.
However, just before half-time, the hosts were reduced to 10 men after Adnane Abid was sent off.
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In the second half, Royal Antwerp huffed and puffed as they looked for an equaliser.
During the closing stages, with 87 minutes on the clock, the match descended into utter chaos.
Referee Lothar D’Hondt was standing near the touchline during a dead ball situation.
At this point, a cup was thrown from the stands, which hit D’Hondt's back before deflecting onto the arm of Standard Liege player Tobias Mohr.
Moments after the incident, referee D’Hondt decided to abandon the match as he blew his whistle and gestured to the players to leave the field and head down the tunnel.
As reported by The Sun, both sets of players were left fuming by the incident.
It has been suggested that Royal Antwerp players, who were chasing the equaliser, protested against the referee's decision to stop the match.
Meanwhile, 10-man Standard Liege were left worried if their defensive efforts would be in vain.
According to rules set out by the Belgian Pro League, the match will continue behind closed doors from the 87th minute and it will kick off again on Monday at 3pm local time.
After the incident and the abandonment of the match, Standard Liege released a statement claiming that the culprit had been identified.
The statement read: "The supporter who threw the cup at the referee has been identified and the club will initiate civil stadium ban proceedings against him, as well as an action for compensation."
Currently, Standard Liege and Royal Antwerp are level on points and are only separated by goal difference.