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Alkmaar fans in the second leg against West Ham
Photograph:
IMAGO/Nigel Keene / IMAGO/Pro Sports Images
After Alkmaar Zaanstreek's semi-final exit against West Ham United in the Conference League, riots have broken out. According to media reports, players were also drawn into clashes after the Dutch football club's 0-1 home defeat.
As reported by the Dutch news agency ANP, AZ supporters stormed the main stand of the stadium in Alkmaar shortly after the final whistle and attacked the West Ham fans who celebrated their victory. Images posted on Twitter show a group breaking through a fence before a confrontation occurs. Other footage shows players from the English club actively trying to push back the troublemakers.
West Ham team manager David Moyes told ANP after the game that his players had intervened to protect their friends and family: "My parents and friends were also in the stands. I didn't see what happened until later."
Game abortions and lighter throws
Recently, there had been repeated incidents in Dutch football. It was only on Sunday that the first division match between FC Groningen and Ajax Amsterdam was abandoned after smoke bombs were thrown onto the pitch, among other things. Last month, Ajax midfielder Davy Klaassen suffered a head injury after a Feyenoord fan threw a lighter at him from the stands.
West Ham, meanwhile, will face Italian top-flight side AC Fiorentina in the Conference League final in Prague on 7 June. In the semi-final second leg against Alkmaar, Pablo Fornals scored for West Ham in the fourth minute of injury time. Coach Moyes' team had already won the first leg 2-1.
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