WEST Ham fans clashed with riot cops and set off a flare as celebrations over their side’s Europa win got out of hand last night.
There were jubilant scenes inside the ground as the East London side lifted their first major trophy in 43 years with a 2-1 win over Italy’s Fiorentina.
As the celebrations spilled out onto the Prague streets, Hammers fans lined up against police dressed in riot gear.
A flare was let off in the crowd with one witness saying “all hell broke loose”.
Jurre Uijtendaal, 22, told The Sun: “Someone let a flare off – we were singing and it all got a bit too much for the police.
“They decided to let off a strike to cool it down. They tried to take down the guy with the flare.
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“All hell broke loose and the police noticed they were outnumbered so they formed a circle.”
The Prague cops resorted to using pepper spray after they moved in to cart off the lad with the flare.
Jake Masterton, 23, from Kent, said: “There was a lad holding a flare – nothing more. Nobody kicking off or anything.
“Police just stormed through and grabbed him and wheeled him off. He was a young guy too.
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“Then they just formed a little unit in the middle and all the fans started fighting back – then the pepper spray came out.
“It’s a shambolic showing from the police. We’re all just enjoying this win. We can light off a flare of two if we want.”
Riot police in the Old Town area of the city stormed the group, with fans responding by pelting the officers with bottles and missiles.
Earlier in the day Czech police said they had detained at least 16 Italian fans after they attacked West Ham supporters outside a bar, with videos shared on social media showing chairs and fireworks being thrown.
Celebrations were overall good-natured after the match, with revellers hugging and kissing each other and dancing on tables in bars.
Chants of “2-1 to the cockney boys” and “Irons” also broke out as the Londoners celebrated the win.
The final took place at the Fortuna Arena, which has a capacity of around 19,300, with West Ham receiving an official ticket allocation of 5,000, although many more travelled from the UK to be in the city during the game.
Supporters watched in bars around the city, including a group who went wild at McCarthy’s Pub in the Old Town area from the moment Jarrod Bowen gave the team the lead in the final minute of the second half.
West Ham fan Aaron, 18, said it felt “unreal” to win.
“(I’ve) never felt like it in my life,” he said.
He said his plan for the rest of the night was to “stumble back to the hotel”.
“How we get there I don’t care,” he added.
It came hours after West Ham fans were ambushed by Fiorentina ultras armed with chairs and metal bars in what was called an unprovoked brawl.
Czech police said three people were injured during the incident, with one police officer being attacked.
One witness said fans of the Italian side were armed with “chains and belt buckles”.
There was also controversy during the match as Cristiano Biraghi of Fiorentina was seen bleeding from the back of the head after he appeared to have been hit by an object thrown from the West Ham stand.
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Shortly before the game ended, the English club put out a statement condemning the behaviour of a “small number of individuals”, adding: “These actions have no place in football, and do not in any way represent the values of our football club and the overwhelming majority of our supporters, who have behaved impeccably in Prague this week and throughout our last two seasons in European competition.”
The club said it would work with police to review the incident and take action against offenders, including implementing lifetime bans.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
