UEFA doesn't want players' children celebrating on the pitch

A UEFA official has discouraged Euro 2016 semi-finalists from celebrating any potential victory this week with their children on the pitch.

Wales superstar Gareth Bale trotted out his 3-year-old daughter after important victories over Northern Ireland and Belgium, tossing her in the air while waving to the Welsh supporters. Neil Taylor and Hal Robson-Kanu were also joined by their little ones following the quarter-final win, which marked Wales' deepest run at a major tournament.

But tournament director Martin Kallen cautioned teams about the perils of such family activities in the stadium.

"It is a European Championship, not a family party ... a stadium is not the most safe place for small kids," Kallen said. "It is getting more and more a habit that entire family members would like to go on the pitch or into the technical area. The principle is how far you go with having other people on the pitch rather than the players. People with accreditation cards should be on the pitch and not more."

At risk of sounding like a party-pooper, Kallen emphasised that UEFA isn't "100 percent against it," but rather cautious.

"Small kids of 5, 6 years - if something happened, what do you do afterwards? What do you say? From our side there should be a certain order," he added.

UEFA was forced to crack down on crowd trouble earlier in the tournament, particularly after the match in Marseille between Russia and England, when supporters clashed in one of the stands. Flares interrupted Croatia's contest against the Czech Republic, while a pitch invader caused a scene following one of Portugal's group games.