Riot police storm stands after referee was forced to stop Serbia vs England

England’s 5-0 win over Serbia was subject to multiple moments of crowd trouble.

The World Cup qualifier was briefly stopped in the first-half as England defenders had lasers shone at them from the crowd, and things got more intense after half time.

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Tension at the Rajko Mitic Stadium cranked up with the home side 2-0 down through Harry Kane and Noni Madueke.

Manager Dragan Stojkovic was subject to loud boos, particularly when he emerged from the tunnel for the second half, seeing his side go 3-0 down through Ezri Konsa soon after.

As the Three Lions turned on the style, things turned nasty among the home fans, with talkSPORT’s Jim Proudfoot reporting the trouble live.

“A Serbian supporter was trying to make his way down, he climbed over the red railings and was slowly making his way towards the England fans,” he explained.

“He’s now been apprehended and won’t be watching anymore of the game.

“He got his hands on an England shirt and ripped it in front of the England supporters.”

Co-commentator Stuart Pearce added: “One of the Serbian supporters has done a one man attack, but luckily for the England fans he’s not got into the England end.”

Political tensions between the home fans were also reported around the 64th minute, with children removed from the stands as riot police were called in to stop the trouble from escalating.

Proudfoot added: “There are political undertones to the chanting, complaints about the president of Serbia, there were political protests over here yesterday. When we arrived at the airport we were diverted away from those protests so there’s clearly a lot of unrest.

“There’s a skirmish at the bottom of the home crowd. The riot police are going in very quickly. Serbians very disaffected by this performance are calling for the head of the manager.”

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Serbia fans target England players with lasers

Earlier on, as the first half wound down, the game was stopped in the 38th minute by experienced French referee Clement Turpin.

The official was then seen in brief conversation with the touchline before a PA announcement boomed out in Serbian at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade.

That was to warn against laser pens being shone from the crowd to distract England’s players – resulting in widespread boos.

Defenders Konsa and Reece James were targeted, with green lights being shone on their faces, as captured by the TV images.

Konsa was stopped in his tracks and held his face after the lights were aimed at his eyes.

There were also some pyrotechnics in use in the home end.

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The Rajko Mitic Stadium was already at reduced capacity as a punishment from FIFA for racist chanting during a match against Andorra in June.

At least 15 per cent of the home section had to be closed.

The Serbian football association claim they’ve been fined over £600,000 by FIFA and UEFA over the past five years.

They claim this is due to ‘various prohibited items, insults, and discrimination in the stands during the matches’.

Asked what his team will do should they be abused at the match, captain Kane said: “We learned the protocols from UEFA and what the kind of rules are if something does happen, what the players should do if something happens.

“And as always, it has to be discussed because there’s a possibility, but we don’t like to focus on it too much.

“Ultimately, we’re more focused on the game and what we can do on the pitch. If something does happen, we’re prepared for that.

“But, of course, it’s ifs and buts, so we hope it doesn’t. We don’t expect it to, but we’re prepared if it does.”