Croatia fan is 'BITTEN by another supporter' during a melee for a player's shirt after Italy draw - with German police investigating

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German police are believed to be investigating an incident which saw a Croatia fan bitten by another supporter in a fight for Luke Ivanusec's match shirt, according to reports. 

Zlatko Dalic's side saw their hopes of making it through the group stages at Euro 2024 all but snuffed out on Monday evening, after Italy's Mattia Zaccagni's added-time equaliser cancelled out Luka Modric's opener moments before time. 

Croatia will now have to keep a close eye on the best-placed teams currently third in their group, after defeat to Spain and a draw with Albania left the side with just two points. 

In the aftermath of the match at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Lenard Barisic found himself caught up in further tumult as he waited to see if he would receive the attacking midfielder's shirt as Ivanusec left the pitch. 

In a video which circulated on social media after the final whistle, Barisic showed off two nasty-looking bite marks, reportedly gained during the crush to secure the player's shirt. 

Croatia fan Lenard Barisic was reportedly bitten clashing with a rival supporter for a jersey

Footage of Barisic showing off his injury went viral following Croatia's 1-1 draw with Italy

Instagram page volimhrvatsu - via the Mirror - added Barsic had the jersey snatched from his hands, and picked up the injury in the ensuing fracas. 

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'Horrible!' The page sharing the footage captioned the video of Barisic's wounds. 'After the match against Italy, Luka Ivanucec threw his jersey into the hands of a young man (Lenard Barisic) but three foreigners tore off his holy piece of fabric, and in the fight for (it) one woman bit the young man's shoulder. 

'Everything has been reported to the police.'

As the footage quickly went viral, the Feyenoord star caught wind of the story, and reached out to Barisic directly in a bid to see him receive the jersey as he had initially planned. 

'Hello Lenard,' Ivanusec is thought to have shared in a direct messafe to Barisic. 'I'm sorry for the situation that happened after the game, I hope everything is okay. 

'Let me know how we can arrange for you to get the jersey.'

An estimated 100,000 Croatia fans are believed to have travelled to Germany to support the national team through their group stage travails, with Lower Saxony Police sharing the following statement on incidents during and after Monday's match. 

Barisic is thought to have received a response from Luka Ivanusec - and will be given another signed shirt

Real Madrid icon Luka Modric was unable to secure the vital victory for his side in what might be his final international game

Italy snuck an equaliser to book their miracle spot in the knockout stages in added time

'The football match ended 1-1 at around 10:55pm,' the statement read. 'During the game, police in the stadium had to take criminal prosecution measures. Throwing cups and the use of pyrotechnics required criminal prosecution. After the game, the stadium quickly emptied.

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'At this football match, drone defence also found four drones in the restricted flight zone, brought them to land and opened investigations against the pilots identified for violating the Aviation Act,' the statement continued. 

'Many drone pilots are not aware that they have a duty to prepare for the flight and therefore need to be particularly informed about the geographical features and associated restrictions. 

'During the entire operation, 45 criminal offences and five administrative offences were registered. As the numerous crimes in the market area and during the fan walks have not yet been evaluated, a significant increase in the number of cases is to be expected.

'So far, 15 suspects have been identified. Investigations have been opened primarily for attempted dangerous bodily harm in connection with the ignition of pyrotechnics, but also for incitement, the use of symbols of unconstitutional organisations, bodily harm, trespassing and violations of the Aviation Act.'

Tempers also flared in Dalic's press conference after the final whistle, where the Croatia head coach accused referee Danny Makkelie of 'tearing the team apart' with the decision to add eight minutes of stoppage time to Monday's clash. 

Croatia national team manager Zlatko Dalic was apopletic with the decision to play so much extra time by referee Danny Makkelie

'The referee tore us apart the whole match, he wasn't sent to that match by chance.' said a visibly angry Dalic. 

'I don't know where the referee found those eight minutes of stoppage time. I was talking about UEFA and FIFA, you didn't support me in that. 

'But that's not the reason, I want to say it no matter how much some people criticise me, it's a fact. I can't escape the impression that this is so.

'There were six substitutions, so three minutes maximum. And it was VAR minutes, so four minutes maximum, he put eight.'