Global Courant 2023-05-19 12:47:44
Problems flared at the end of the game, which West Ham won 1-0
West Ham players confronted a group of AZ Alkmaar fans who attacked an area where their friends and family were watching the second leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final.
Mikhail Antonio and Said Benrahma were among those who tried to intervene in the clashes shortly after the Premier League team reached the final.
BBC commentator Alistair Bruce-Ball, who was at the stadium, said he saw punches being thrown by the AZ fans.
“These are horrible scenes,” he said.
“Some fans, dressed in dark jackets and hoods, came running down in front of the bottom stand to express their displeasure, and there are problems on our right.
“The concern here is I think West Ham’s relatives and friends are in that section. Those are very, very unpleasant scenes.
“The West Ham players are being held back. I can see punches being thrown in the distance.”
‘We were worried about them’
West Ham manager David Moyes, whose 87-year-old father was reportedly in the audience, said his players were angry about what happened at AFAS Stadium.
“We’ll have to wait for the dust to settle to see what it is, but the main problem is the area is where the players have all their families,” he said.
“That’s where the problem came in and a lot of players got angry because they couldn’t see if they were okay.
“What I don’t want to do in any way is ruin our evening. It wasn’t the West Ham supporters looking for trouble.
“Was I worried? Yes, my family was there and I had friends in that section. You hope they would try to get rid of it.
“Security wanted to bring me in, but I had to make sure my players weren’t involved.”
Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola said: “When families or friends come to the stadium, we don’t want to see that kind of thing. They want to enjoy the event and we want to enjoy it with them. We were concerned about them. .”
Midfielder Pablo Fornals added: “I was really worried about how my teammates’ family and the West Ham family are doing. Hopefully everyone is okay and the police can do their job and realize who did it.”
“It’s not great when you’re in that beautiful moment and people who aren’t are trying to use violence against you.”
West Ham reached their first major European final since 1976 by beating their Dutch opponents 1–0 and 3–1 on aggregate in the evening.
During the first leg at London Stadium last week, relatives of AZ players got involved in a confrontation with West Ham fans.
AZ boss Pascal Jansen: “What happened last week was very unfortunate and then you get the same feeling as what happened last night.
“I’m a little embarrassed that it happened in our stadium, but you have to control your emotions.”
Former Hammers midfielder Joe Cole, who was part of the BT Sport team covering the game, said what happened was “absurd”.
“Grown men attack the West Ham fans,” he said. “Players tried to join in to break it up.
“AZ Alkmaar fans showing up with balaclavas and throwing punches is ridiculous.”
‘Feeling of nervousness’ about final security
Analysis by Simon Stone, BBC Sport
West Ham’s elation at reaching their first major final in 43 years is tempered by the knowledge that the venue in Prague that will host the match won’t be big enough for the number of people who want to see it.
Their opponents, Fiorentina, are a similar club in that they have a large following and little recent success, in their case the Coppa Italia in 2001.
UEFA believes the game will be shown in fan parks, which may help. However, with a capacity of 20,000 and an allocation of 5,000 for each club, there is a sense of nervousness about how this will be managed and whether security around the game will be adequate.
The Fortuna Arena in Prague was chosen to host the Europa Conference League final in May 2022
