West Ham fined by UEFA for crowd disturbance
West Ham have been fined £29,000 after their fans fought Genk supporters and stewards during their last Europa League clash in Belgium.
The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body announced the decision on Monday, banning the sale of tickets to the club’s away supporters for the next Europa League game.
The Hammers were held to a 1-1 draw by Genk, and as Football.London journalist Thomas Clark confirmed on the day, some West Ham supporters were ejected from the stadium after clashing with the home fans.
He wrote at the time: “West Ham fans in the home end being escorted out after a little coming together with the stewards and a few Genk fans.”
Daily Mail’s Mike Keegan took to his personal Twitter account on Monday evening to provide the information on UEFA’s official account.
He said: “UEFA say West Ham fined total of 34,000 euros [£28,837] and ‘told to ban the sale of tickets to its away supporters for the next UEFA competition match, for crowd disturbances’.”
Blow?
West Ham travel to Austria to face Rapid Wien on November 25, and they will have to play the game without their fans.
David Moyes’ men have already booked a place in the last-32 of the competition after picking 10 points in their opening four group games, but another win will see them emerge as guaranteed group leaders ahead of the knockout stages.
With their supporters unable to cheer them on away from home, the Hammers will have to be on top of their game to have a chance against the Austrians who can still qualify if they win the next two games.
The Hammers are not likely to struggle against them, but Moyes would have loved to have some of their fans cheering them on.
Unfortunately, a minority has made that impossible after the ugly scenes at Belgium last time out.
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