Soccer-Copenhagen fans attacked in Kiev, match interrupted

KIEV, July 30 (Reuters) - Fighting between rival fans caused a 15 minute interruption to the Champions League qualifier between Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and FC Copenhagen at the Olimpiysky stadium in Kiev on Wednesday. Supporters of the Danish club were attacked by an unidentified group of people believed to be Dnipro fans and forced to seek refugee under the stands with referee Andre Marriner postponing the start of the second half for 15 minutes. FC Copenhagen issued a letter of complaint to UEFA, a representative of the Danish club told a news conference after the 0-0 draw. "A few fans of our club were attacked by the Ukrainian fans and were forced to run away from the stands. It is very unpleasant for us. We have complained to UEFA. We will refrain from further comments until after an investigation," he said. A representative of Dnipro fans who gave his name as Vlad in an interviewed with local TV broadcaster 2+2, accused Danish supporters of sparking the fighting by waving a Russian flag. "I would like to apologise for this incident. It was some sort of a provocation. The Danish fans demonstrated the flag of the neighboring country, that is why we saw the brawl. The incident was inflammatory because of politics," he said. Ukrainian government forces are fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country after Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March. (Reporting by Igor Nitsak; Editing by Rex Gowar)