Soccer game ends with firework attack

BELFAST, Northern Ireland, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The sectarian divide in Northern Ireland played out on the soccer field when a fan of a Catholic-supported team shot a firework at a player for the rival team.

The attack on Conor Hagan occurred Tuesday night just after his team, Linfield, lost the County Antrim Shield final 2-1 to Cliftonville, The Daily Mail reported. It set off violent fighting between the fans of the two teams.

Just before the rocket hit Hagan, Linfield supporters, who are mostly Protestant, had been throwing paper at the Cliftonville fans.

"I was lying on the ground disgusted with the result and didn't see the firework coming," Hagan told the Belfast Telegraph. "It hit me on the back when it went off and it was more the bang that scared me and I was in shock for few seconds."

The attack occurred as Britain prepared for Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night, Nov. 5, when fireworks are set off to celebrate the foiling of a Catholic plot in the 17th century.