West Ham fans branded 'animals' by fuming Fiorentina chief for their behaviour in Prague

 A minority of West Ham supporters let the club down in Prague by pelting Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi with missiles as he went to take a corner

West Ham fans have been branded ‘animals’ by the president of Fiorentina following the bad behaviour of a minority of supporters in Prague.

The Hammers’ victory in the final of the Europa Conference League has been overshadowed by the actions of a small number of supporters, who let the club down by pelting Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi with missiles as he went to take a corner in the first half.

One of the projectiles cut Biraghi’s head open, with the Italian needing lengthy treatment and a bandage to allow him to continue. He reportedly needed eight stitches in the wound. 

The Hammers have vowed to take strong action against the culprits, saying anyone identified would be hit with an indefinite ban from West Ham matches.

The quickly-issued statement said: “These actions have no place in football, and do not in any way represent the values of our football club and the overwhelming majority of our supporters, who have behaved impeccably in Prague this week and throughout our last two seasons in European competition.

“We will work with the police and other stakeholders to review the incidents and act against anyone found guilty of an offence. In line with our zero-tolerance approach, anyone identified will have their details passed to the police and will be given an indefinite ban and therefore be unable to enter London Stadium and travel with the club. There is no place for this kind of behaviour at West Ham United.”

However, that hasn’t stopped Fiorentina chief Rocco Commisso from issuing a damning verdict on supporters of the east London club. Commisso also slammed the referee for not taking firmer action after striker Luka Jovic was left with a broken nose following an on-pitch incident.

“I expected a victory, but there were some cases on the pitch where the referee should have done better,” said Commisso, reported firenzeviola.it.

“Jovic with a broken nose, the other one is Biraghi. I spoke to the Premier League president and I told him that they are all ‘animals’ there for the way they treated our players.”

Meanwhile, West Ham fans clashed with riot police and dogs in the centre of Prague as they celebrated. Images showed riot police with batons surrounded by West Ham fans.

The incident occurred in the old town, where police had tried to confiscate flares, leading to a scuffle. Riot police stormed the group of fans when they lit another flare, with fans responding by pelting the officers with bottles and missiles.