Czech riot police controls a crowd of West Ham United supporters celebrating at the Old Town Square after their team won the UEFA Europa Conference League 2022/23 final match between ACF Fiorentina and West Ham United FC in Prague, Czech Republic on June 7, 2023. (Photo by AFP stringer / AFP)
Prague police detain 23 Fiorentina, West Ham fans
Prague police said they had detained 23 fans in relation to the Europa final pitting West Ham against Fiorentina in the Czech capital.
Czech riot police controls a crowd of West Ham United supporters celebrating at the Old Town Square after their team won the UEFA Europa Conference League 2022/23 final match between ACF Fiorentina and West Ham United FC in Prague, Czech Republic on June 7, 2023. (Photo by AFP stringer / AFP)
Prague police said Thursday they had detained 23 fans in relation to the Europa Conference League final pitting West Ham against Fiorentina in the Czech capital the day before.
A total of 22 Italians and one Englishman were detained as West Ham beat Fiorentina 2-1 owing to Jarrod Bowen’s 90th-minute goal to lift the trophy, Prague police spokesman Jan Rybansky told AFP.
Seventeen Fiorentina fans were detained following an attack on West Ham supporters in a bar in central Prague ahead of the game.
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“Three of them are suspected of having committed a crime — one of violence against a police officer and two of riot,” Rybansky said.
The remaining fourteen did not obey police instructions and were fined 2,000 korunas ($91) each, he added.
A video on social networks showed Fiorentina fans throwing chairs during the riot.
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Police then posted a photo of the pacified fans lying on the ground in a nearby footwear shop with their hands tied up behind their backs.
Three West Ham fans suffered light injuries during the attack. Two were treated on the spot and one was taken to hospital with a light head injury, emergency services said.
West Ham win Europa final
After the final whistle, West Ham supporters flooded the Old Town Square in Prague’s UNESCO-listed historic centre to celebrate.
One English fan was detained after setting off pyrotechnics in the square half an hour after midnight local time (2230 GMT), Rybansky said.
West Ham fans were also criticised for throwing beer cups at players during the game.
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Fiorentina full-back and captain Cristiano Biraghi finished the game with a bandaged head after being targeted as he was getting ready to take a corner underneath the West Ham stands.
Having won their second European trophy ever, following a 1965 triumph in the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup, West Ham have clinched a spot in next season’s Europa League.
© Agence France-Presse
