Asuncion (Paraguay), Oct 9 (IANS): A Paraguayan first division football match between Olimpia and Sol de America was suspended due to violent clashes between fans.

Four people were taken to hospital with serious injuries in the city of Pedro Juan Caballero on Sunday, about 450 km north of the capital Asuncion, according to police, reports Xinhua news agency.

Referee Eber Aquino was forced to stop play in the eighth minute when fans in the southern sector of the Rio Parapiti stadium began striking each other with hard objects.

Video footage shows terrified spectators, including women and children, fleeing from the violence.

Players from both sides tried in vain to calm the fans before Aquino called off the match.

"We condem the violence," Paraguayan Football Association (AFP) president Robert Harrison wrote on Twitter. "We totally repudiate the acts of vandalism in the match between Olimpia and Sol de America," he added.