West Ham‘s party tonight to celebrate the Europa Conference League triumph is to be dampened – with UEFA set to punish the club over disturbing missile throwing incidents.
A section of West Ham supporters threw plastic pint cups and a vape at Fiorentina’s Cristiano Biraghi in the first half – and the game had to be stopped as medics attended to a gash to Biraghi’s head while the referee ushered the other Italian players to the halfway line.
The Premier League side are understood to be likely to escape the most stringent action football chiefs can impose. But a UEFA source in Prague told Mail Sport: ‘I can tell you 100 per cent that a fine at the very least will be levied on the new champions.
UEFA is empowered to ban West Ham from its matches, or order them to play ties in next year’s Europa league in an empty stadium. But a fine will be considered and is the most likely punishment once the referees report has been examined and evaluated.
Referee Carlos del Cerro Grande has included the disgraceful attacks on Fiorentina players in his report to UEFA.
West Ham fan Keith Wildes. 41, from Wansted said: ‘Most West Ham fans will feel let down by the minority who were behind it all.
‘Fans I have been talking to here respected their captain for his effort and sportsman ship. I feel sorry about it.’
But Mark Hammond, 22, from Barking who was drinking in the Old Town Square in the afternoon sunshine said: ‘UEFA should have chucked a five quid returnable deposit on each glass. There wouldn’t have been anything chucked then.’
Declan Rice, the West Ham captain, will tonight lead an open top bus parade to show off the trophy after flying home this afternoon.
