2023-05-19 10:20:55
Clashes erupted this Thursday evening in the Netherlands, after AZ Alkmaar’s home defeat (0-1) against English team West Ham in the semi-final second leg of the Europa League Conference. Fans of AZ, eliminated after this second defeat, stormed the main stand of the AFAS Stadion in the northwest of the Netherlands, shortly after the final whistle, before battling against the West Ham fans celebrating their victory, Dutch news agency ANP reported.
Several players from both teams were drawn into the fan brawl, including West Ham captain Declan Rice. “The fans sat behind the AZ goal and passed through a gate to access the main stand, after which they swarmed the West Ham supporters who were celebrating the qualification of former Parisians Alphonse Areola and Thilo Kherer. From there, the fists flew,” the agency added.
Images posted on Twitter show a group of supporters, presumably from AZ, breaking through a barrier before seeking confrontation with fans of the English club. Other footage shows West Ham players jumping over the boards to intervene in the fight while waving frantically. In another sequence, several police officers in riot gear repel AZ supporters before restoring order in the stadium.
David Moyes, the WHU coach, whose 85-year-old father was at the stadium, said after the game that his players got involved because they wanted to protect their friends and family: “My parents and my friends were also in the stands. I only saw later what happened. “Former Lyonnais Lucas Paqueta and Saïd Benrahma also tried to defend their loved ones.
Calm returned after a good ten minutes and the intervention of the police. From now on, the 4th in the Dutch championship is at risk. Football-related incidents are increasingly violent in the Netherlands, which worries the authorities and sports officials in the country.
A referee interrupted a Premier League match between FC Groningen and Ajax Amsterdam on Sunday after a Groningen fan rushed onto the pitch with a banner and smoke bombs were thrown onto the pitch . Last month, Ajax midfielder Davy Klaassen was injured in the head by a lighter thrown by a Feyenoord Rotterdam fan from the stands.
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