West Ham United fans and players were attacked by thugs after their Europa Conference League semi-final win over AZ Alkmaar, MySportDab reports.
Some Dutch fans attacked a section of West Ham fans where some players family were seated watching.
Pablo Fornals’ injury-time goal secure West Ham’s place in the Europa Conference League final but the celebrations did not last long.
Alkmaar fans dressed in black, and in hoods, raced around the stadium to spark violence.
Punches were thrown and players jumped in trying to defend their friends and families, who were very close to the scene.
Michail Antonio and Flynn Downes both got close to the scene while the other players were held back, as it turned really nasty.
Lucas Paqueta and Said Benrahma also tried to intervene and attempt to break up the melee.
However, everything returned to order after a few minutes and Declan Rice’s team secured a 3-1 aggregate win.
West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was concerned about his loved ones.
‘I had family here that came to watch the game,’ he said.
‘They were far from the incident. We were worried, you know? Security is the most important thing in a stadiums and we were worried about our families.
‘We were very worried. It’s just about security and too much freedom for the opposing fans. At the end, they stopped them.
After the game, Coach David Moyes said: ‘I can’t explain why it happened.
‘Players tried to get involved because it was in their family section, that was the reason for the reaction.
‘I don’t want that to end the night like that because the West Ham fans weren’t looking for trouble. Hopefully UEFA will look into it.’
Video;
