West Ham’s 2-1 victory over Anderlecht on Thursday night was marred by crowd trouble, which resulted in 13 arrests. One man was detained for an alleged assault on an officer who may have broken his wrist; 12 other people were detained for offenses unrelated to that incident.
At the conclusion of Anderlecht’s Europa Conference League match against West Ham on Thursday at the London Stadium, fans tore out seats and tossed flares, injuring four police officers, of which two required hospitalization.
East London’s game, which West Ham won 2-1 on the strength of goals from Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma, saw trouble break out near the conclusion.
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One of the policemen may have a broken wrist, while another may need stitches after suffering a head injury. Throughout the disturbance, two additional cops suffered head injuries.
Officers had to intervene wearing protective gear to restore calm after chairs and flares were thrown from inside the away section.
For the alleged assault on the cop who allegedly fractured his wrist, one man was detained.
Twelve persons were detained for offenses unconnected to the officer assaults.
The players’ duty is to get on with it, and I think they did, according to West Ham manager David Moyes, after the game.
“The more we consider it, the less we desire any mischief. Now that society and the world have changed, no football team wants to be associated with that, and I know I don’t want it at West Ham.”
Anderlecht vehemently denounced the actions of its supporters and will cooperate with UEFA to see that repercussions are felt.
A club representative stated: “We don’t accept this kind of behavior, neither at home nor on the road, thus the club will pursue this further with the fans. We strongly oppose this and will bring it up with UEFA and the fans. West Ham deserves our sincere apologies for this behavior.”
“It’s good for the press officer to speak up for the club,” continued Moyes. They deserve a lot of recognition because they are an excellent football team. They have every right to desire to defend their own club.
When there is crowd unrest in any way, everyone’s attention is diverted. Since it’s one of those topics you don’t want to discuss, I had no interest in it. I don’t want to make it any more noticeable.