Lightning Storm Halts Play At Euro 2012

The Ukraine-France game at the European Championships was halted for nearly an hour because of a fierce thunderstorm.

Just five minutes into the game, Dutch referee Bjoern Kuipers pointed upward and blew his whistle, signaling a rare stoppage for weather.

The players sprinted to the tunnel Arena as torrential rain poured and lightning flashed above the Donbass Arena in Donetsk.

There were initial fears the game would be postponed altogether and rearranged for the following day at the same time, in line with UEFA rules.

The rain eventually eased and groundskeepers began draining the field with spiked tools. Play resumed after a 56-minute delay.

But the delay had a knock on effect on the night's other Group D game in Kiev, where England's match with Sweden kicked off fifteen minutes late.

France went on to win the match 2-0 with second haldf goals from Jeremy Menez and Newcastle's Yohan Cabeye.