ALKMAAR — AZ Alkmaar’s manager Pascal Jansen said he was “ashamed” after West Ham players’ families and friends were targeted by supporters in black hoodies after the final whistle.
Pablo Fornals’ 90th minute strike at the AFAS Stadion ensured West Ham won 1-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate in their Europa Conference League semi-final. They will meet Fiorentina in the final in Prague on 7 June.
West Ham’s late winner was quickly overshadowed by disturbing scenes when a group of supporters charged from the main stand and pulled down a fence to gain access towards the area where families, friends and West Ham officials were situated.
Said Benrahma, Aaron Cresswell, Lucas Paqueta, Michail Antonio and Flynn Downes were among the West Ham players who hurdled the advertising boards and attempted to intervene, while a couple of AZ players also jumped in to try and calm the situation.
2 West Ham fans managing to stop a mob of AZ Alkmaar fans from getting to the hospitality section where all the players families are seated
— Football Away Days (@AwayDays_) May 19, 2023pic.twitter.com/7nKjXUbEvC
After a frantic couple of minutes, calm was restored as West Ham fans and belatedly, security guards prevented AZ fans from escalating the situation further.
“I feel ashamed it happened in our stadium,” AZ boss Jansen said afterwards. “It should not be happening. You have to stay in control of your emotions.”
David Moyes’ elderly father was believed to be in the area where the incident occurred.
“I can’t explain what happened and why it happened,” Moyes said. “Players were involved because it was the family section. That was probably the reason for the reaction.
“I don’t want that in any way to blight the night because the West Ham fans weren’t looking for trouble. Hopefully they’ll look into it. My family were there and I had friends in that section.
“You’re hoping they would try and get themselves away from it. I didn’t recognise it because I was too happy. Security wanted to take me inside but I had to make sure my players weren’t involved.”
The Dutch National Police released a statement on Friday which read: “So far no arrests have been made.
“Our aim was to disperse the crowd and restore order as quickly as possible in which we succeeded. The police will investigate footage of the incident and try to identify supporters. Arrests may follow from this.
“Together with AZ, the municipality of Alkmaar and the public prosecution service, we will evaluate last night’s incidents which we regret having happened. This kind of behaviour has no place in football.”
West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola said: “When families or friends are coming to the stadium, we don’t want to see things like that. They want to enjoy the event and we want to enjoy it with them as well. We were worried about them.”
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