Burnley have said they had to abandon their pre-season friendly against Hannover on Saturday on police advice after crowd trouble marred the action at Turf Moor. Lancashire police said a group of away supporters displayed “violent behaviour” and “attempted to attack fans in the home stands”.

Supporters of the newly promoted Bundesliga side were pictured ripping up seats and throwing them towards home sections of the stadium while the first half was still being played. Defender Ben Mee opened the scoring for Burnley before police attempted to restore order over an extended half-time interval.

“A decision has been taken to abandon the football match between Burnley FC and Hannover, following consultation between the police match commander, the referee and Burnley FC’s grounds safety officer,” chief superintendent Chris Bithell, of Lancashire police, said.

“This follows violent behaviour by a group of travelling Hannover fans, who attempted to attack fans in the home stands, as well as police officers and stewards.

“Although a robust policing operation was in place for the match, based on pre-game intelligence, additional resources have now been brought in from across the county to ensure no further disorder occurs.”

Burnley supporters were ordered to leave the stadium while Hannover’s remained inside the ground. A short statement on the club’s Twitter account read: “Today’s game has been abandoned, on police advice.”

Photographs showed unrest in the stands, with police holding back Hannover fans from their home counterparts.

Sean Dyche, the Burnley manager, said he felt it was the right decision to abandon the match at half-time. “We went on police advice,” he said. “We are still kind of piecing together the details but the police decided to make a decision and we fully support that, from myself and the team and the club.

“The referee came to see me and said he wanted us in the room just to get a feel for our general thoughts. I made it clear. It comes down to safety. The police decided to call it off and we support that.

“We understand that. It’s important what the team do, but it’s not as important as people coming to a football match. You want safety. You don’t want people to get hurt. It’s a shame what has happened but it’s done, as simple as that.”

Burnley start the new Premier League season at champions Chelsea on Saturday 12 August. Dyche admits he may to try to organise another match to help his side build up match fitness ahead of the opening weekend.

“We have already started the wheels in motion with the staff and will possibly have a look at getting another game in, even if it’s just for 60 minutes for players to make sure they’re topped up,” he added.

“In the bigger picture I think the lads are fit and well. I think they’ve shown some good signs in pre-season and I think there’s still more to come.”