Malmo shrug off home crowd trouble

Andersson says Swedish football has been embarrassed by the trouble

Daniel Andersson says crowd trouble by Malmo fans will not disrupt their preparations for facing Rangers in their Champions League qualifier.

Their league match against Djurgardens was abandoned on Saturday after firecrackers were thrown on the pitch.

"It hurts Swedish football a lot but it's only a few people who are doing this," said Malmo captain Andersson.

"We were very upset on Saturday, but it's easy to keep the focus on a game like this. It's no problem for us."

It was the second time this season that a match has been halted at the Swedbank Stadium.

"There are big discussions in Swedish football about this instead of talking about just the game," said Andersson.

"Hopefully, we will sort the problem out and talk about the football instead of the problems.

"I really hope there is no repeat because it has happened two times this year and that is two times too many."

Rangers' own fans are banned from travelling to the game as a result of Uefa sanctions imposed following the behaviour of supporters in matches against PSV Eindhoven last season.

"Of course, Rangers would like to have their fans here because they have fantastic fans," said Andersson.

"But it's difficult to say what impact this will have on the game."

Andersson admits he will be bracing himself for a busy night against striker Nikica Jelavic, who opened his account for the season with a goal in Rangers' win over St Johnstone at the weekend.

"They have a very strong team all over," he added. "But, as a central defender, I have to look at the strikers.

"Jelavic is a very good player and he gave us a lot of problems in Glasgow, so we will have to be on our toes."

Meanwhile, Malmo coach Rikard Norling believes their clash with Rangers is simply too important to be overshadowed by problems with a minority of their own fans.

"You can look at it in different ways," he said. "It was a very disappointing moment for the players and for 99% of the fans here and for the staff. That's one side of it.

"The other side is that this game against Rangers is so interesting and important, and has such a spark in itself, that it is a little bit heavier than the negative side.

"I don't think it will affect us as much as people might think, because of the size of this game."