Olympic hockey stars were forced to carry on playing after fans had been kicked out of the venue following an evacuation in Paris, returning to the pitch after all supporters had left Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.

Spain were playing South Africa in the men’s competition, while China faced the Netherlands in the women’s event, but both matches had to be suspended and fans were told to leave due to worrying storms in the French capital.

The FIH issued a statement which read: “Following a warning from Meteo France of imminent storms, a decision has been taken by the venue and the local authorities to evacuate the stadium in the interests of public safety. The matches today are played as per the schedule.”

A message on the big screen at the open-air venue read: “Due to weather conditions this session is suspended. Please evacuate the venue.”

However, that warning did not appear to extend to those competing, as once officials could confirm that fans had left the arena play swiftly recommenced.

It reminded many of the scenes of the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were played without fans in attendance due to strict COVID-19 restrictions.

Spain claimed a 3-0 victory over South Africa, though could not celebrate their triumph with travelling fans, their misery was echoed by the Netherlands who also defeated China by the same scoreline.

Olympic chiefs are yet to confirm whether paying fans will be refunded after being forced to evacuate Yves-du-Manoir mid-match. However, as customers watched over 50 per cent of their games, a partial or full refund is unlikely. The general policy is for no refunds if half of the session has been completed.

The wider Paris region had been put on a severe storm alert, with heavy rain and strong thunderstorms forecasted. Elsewhere in the host city, temperatures reached a scorching 35 degrees.

The storm had already interrupted all high-speed train traffic connecting Paris to the southeast of the country on Wednesday, as well as Switzerland in both directions, though the majority of France was also under heat warnings.

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