West Ham players were seen fighting off AZ Alkmaar thugs who are trying to attack their family and friends after their Europa Conference League semi-final win.
AZ Alkmaar fans descended into utter carnage last night as players moved in to protect their families from thuggish Dutch supporters.
A large group of violent Alkmaar fans who dressed in all-black and hooded to hide their identities, tried to force their way into the away stands in an attempt to attack West Ham supporters at the final whistle.
The incident quickly escalated out of control as many hooded thugs flooded into the hospitality section of the stadium.
West Ham’s Michail Antonio and Flynn Downes leapt over without hesitation and made a beeline for the stands and they were closely followed by team-mates Lucas Paqueta and Said Benrahma.
West Ham supporters in a shocking video were seen bravely trying to hold back the stream of Alkmaar ultras from attacking the families.
While others were fighting off the hoodlums, others stood on top of the stairwell duking it out blow-for-blow with the oncoming thugs.
The security teams managed to force their way into the crowd and separate the fights just as it looked to escalate further.
Some of the security team too jumped in to try and hold back the angry West Ham players in an attempt to ensure it doesn’t become an all-out brawl.
An elderly West Ham fan known as ‘Knollsy’ received praises on social media for jumping in to defend West Ham defender Thilo Kerher’s girlfriend.
A Hammers fan who was a witness to the brawl posted on his social account while showing support to Knollsy.
He said: “A bit of context: we were sitting behind Thilo Kerher’s girlfriend. Knollsy was worried about her and walked to the top of the stairwell, fending off the storming Alkmaar fans. He’s a lovely bloke and did what he felt was right at the time. He stopped those fans.”
The post saw a stream of support from other social media users who praised the actions Knollsy took.
David Moyes’ side eventually headed to the away end to celebrate their 3-1 aggregate win after order was restored.
The match was sealed by Pablo Fornals’ injury-time goal which fired West Ham into next month’s Europa Conference League final.
Alphonse Areola, West Ham goalie, was among the concerned players, who loved one was almost attacked.
“I had family watching the game,’ the keeper revealed.
“We were a bit worried about them, you know? Security is the most important thing in a stadiums specially in this kind of event and we were worried about our families.”
“We were very worried about our families. It’s just about security and it was a bit too open for the opposing fans. At the end, they managed to stop them.”
He also justified the player stepping in to stop the thugs before adding: “When families or fans are coming to the stadium we don’t want to see things like that. They want to enjoy the event and we want to enjoy it with them as well.”
West Ham boss David Moyes said after the game that: “I can’t explain what happened and why it happened.”
“Players were involved because it was the family section… that was probably the reason for the reaction.”
“I don’t want that in anyway to blight the night because the West Ham fans weren’t looking for trouble. Hopefully they’ll (UEFA) look into it.”
“My family were there and I had friends in that section. You’re hoping they would try and get themselves away from it… I didn’t recognize it because I was too happy.”
“Security wanted to take me inside but I had to make sure my players weren’t involved.”
AZ Alkmaar head coach Pascal Jansen was attacked at the London Stadium after their first leg.
After West Ham defeated his team, the coach said: “I feel a little bit ashamed that it happened in our stadium. You have to stay in control of your emotions. A few players were worried because they had family members in the stands and I can imagine what they felt.”
David Moyes also added to the conversation saying that his players were more concerned with their friends and family in the away end.
Moyes said: “We need to wait for the dust to settle, the biggest problem was the area players have friends and families in.”
“The players were angry they couldn’t see if they were okay. We need to wait and ask the officials what happened.”
West Ham United will meet with Italian side Florentina in the Europa Conference League final which will be played in Prague, Czech Republic, on June 7th 2023.
