West Ham United: Scandal emerges in Germany ahead of Bayer Leverkusen showdown
“Hundreds” of West Ham fans have reportedly bought tickets in the home section of the BayArena for their Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash with Bayer Leverkusen, according to the Daily Mail.
The Mail reported on March 27 that a Hammers fan had revealed how word had spread among supporters of the London club that it was possible to hijack the German side’s membership scheme and purchase home tickets – with some thought to have paid as little as €15.
According to the report, the fan said: “Word quickly got around and everyone was doing it. It was on all the WhatsApp groups. There will have been hundreds.”
West Ham’s official away allocation at the 30,000-capacity BayArena is just 1,790 – but now local authorities will expect to deal with a much larger travelling group.
West Ham and Bayer Leverkusen set for colossal quarter-final clash
Both the Hammers and Leverkusen produced comeback victories – albeit of a different kind – in order to reach the quarter-finals and the pair will surely have designs on winning the competition altogether.
West Ham overcame a 1-0 first-leg defeat against Freiburg in style, winning the home leg 5-0 to cruise into the last eight. Leverkusen, meanwhile, were trailing 4-3 on aggregate in the 92nd minute of their second-leg encounter with Qarabag before two stoppage-time goals from Patrik Schick turned the tie around.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen are unbeaten in 38 games across all competitions this season and sit top of the Bundesliga, 10 points clear of reigning champions Bayern Munich.
The German side represent a colossal challenge for the Irons, who qualified for the Europa League by winning the Conference League last season and will harbour hopes of back-to-back continental success.
When the pair meet in Germany on April 11, both clubs will hope to limit their clashing to events on the pitch, rather than the stands.
In other West Ham news, the Irons have reportedly held talks over a potential move for a “special” Premier League striker.
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