A raging fire broke out mid-match at Sweden’s national football stadium, sending smoke billowing around the stands.
AIK welcomed Djurgardens in the early-season clash at the 50,000-capacity Strawberry Arena on Sunday.
But play was stopped on 25 minutes with the visitors 2-1 up after the blaze broke out and firefighters rushed to the scene to douse the flames.
The players remained on the pitch rather than heading to the dressing rooms and authorities confirmed that the fire was extinguished with nobody getting hurt.
It is unclear what sparked the conflagration but security worked quickly to keep supporters away from harm. The match was restarted a few minutes later, with Djurgardens going on to win 4-2.
‘No injuries occurred and the fire was extinguished,’ said Henrik Koch, AIK’s head of security.
A fire broke out at Sweden’s 50,000-seater national stadium during a top-division match
Smoke billowed out from the stand as the players stood and watched the alarming scene
Firefighters worked quickly to tackle the blaze and authorities confirmed nobody was hurt
There was a second stoppage early in the second half as home supporters, having not learned their lesson, set off more flares.
Match delegate Hans Larsson told TV4: ‘We have had a match meeting due to the second incident, which happened one minute into the second half.
‘We had protruding pieces and then the regulations say that we should have a match meeting. It was a fairly effective match meeting.
‘We have been given a green light by the police and the organiser. They have the situation under control.’
AIK are one of Sweden’s traditional ‘big three’ clubs but have endured a testing few years and indeed a disappointing start to the season.
The Stockholm club are ninth after seven games and last won the Allsvenskan title in 2018, which was only the second time they have won it this century.
Djurgardens have become a more recognisable name in European football in recent years after a series of impressive finishes and have won the title four times this century, the last being in 2019.
