MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Football Union has launched a protest against the decision to continue a Euro 2016 qualifier against Montenegro despite goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev being hit by a flare in the first minute.

The game was abandoned midway through the second half on Friday after two outbreaks of crowd trouble and a scuffle between the players.

The game in Podgorica was first delayed by 33 minutes when Akinfeev was hit on the head.

Midway through the second half, a scuffle ensued between players near the touchline, with Eastern Europe's Sport Klub television reporting that a missile hurled from the terraces appeared to have hit another Russian player.

"It is such a shame that the actions of the Montenegro supporters spoilt what would have been a very interesting game," Nikolay Tolstykh, president of the Russian Football Union, told the Sport Express newspaper.

"Following the end of the match, the Russian Football Union launched a protest. In our view, the game should have been stopped in the first minute."

Uefa said it would wait to receive reports from the match delegate and referee before opening disciplinary proceedings but Russian coach Fabio Capello also felt that the match should have been stopped.