Soccer match called off after ref doused in beer

A third-tier game in Germany was suspended on Sunday after the referee was doused in beer by an angry fan at half-time.

Relegation-threatened Zwickau's match against visiting Rot-Weiss Essen did not continue for the second half because referee Nicolas Winter had a cup of beer thrown in his face by a fan, who was apparently unhappy with his decision to send off a Zwickau player and award a penalty to Essen before the interval.

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Winter showed Zwickau defender Nils Butzen a red card for bringing down American forward Isaiah Young, then awarded Essen a penalty for handball from the resultant free kick.

Simon Engelmann scored from the penalty spot to equalise 1-1 before the break, when the home fans made their frustrations known.

The match officials waited, surveying the situation, before the leaving the field.

Magenta Sport TV showed the fan throwing the beer at the referee's face.