Anderlecht apologise to West Ham after fans light flares and throw seats

14 Oct 2022

The Guardian

Anderlecht have issued an apology after their fans lit flares and threw seats at West Ham supporters at their Europa Conference League game

Belgian club ‘strongly condemn’ behaviour at Thursday’s game
Anderlecht say they will take it up with their fans and Uefa

Anderlecht have issued an apology after their fans lit flares and threw seats at West Ham supporters during their 2-1 Europa Conference League defeat at London Stadium on Thursday.

Police had to intervene to separate the two sets of supporters and the Belgian side said their fans’ behaviour was unacceptable. One Anderlecht fan was apprehended by security after running on to the pitch.

“The club will take this onwards with supporters because we don’t tolerate this kind of behaviour, not in our home stadium and not away,” a spokesperson for Anderlecht said. “We will take it up with the fans and definitely Uefa and we strongly condemn this. We want to apologise to West Ham for this behaviour.”

Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'.

If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.

In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.

Turn on sport notifications.

","credit":"","pillar":2}">

Quick GuideHow do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts? Show

Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'.
If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
Turn on sport notifications.

David Moyes praised Anderlecht’s response. “It’s very good of the club to come out and say it,” West Ham’s manager said. “Big credit to them. I think everybody’s focus gets taken away when there’s crowd trouble in some way. The players’ job is to get on with it and I thought they did.

“We are in a different society, a different world now and it’s not what any football club wants to have connected to them.”

Topics

Anderlecht

West Ham United
Europa Conference League
Football violence
news

Reuse this content