A WEST HAM fan was hailed by fellow supporters after holding off an army of AZ Alkmaar thugs.
The Dutch fans reacted angrily to the Hammers’ 1-0 win in the Europa Conference League last night.
GettyWest Ham supporters were attacked by AZ Alkmaar hooligans last night[/caption]
GettyOne fan, pictured in the green jacket, was hailed for his bravery[/caption]
GettyHe bravely fought off the hordes of thugs trying to attack supporters in the away end[/caption]
The result meant David Moyes’ side progressed to the final 3-1 on aggregate and will now meet Fiorentina.
Pablo Fornals’ 94th minute strike sealed the victory, sparking AZ Alkmaar hooligans to attack a group of travelling friends and family of the Hammers’ players and coaching staff sat behind the dugout.
We reported how several West Ham players, including sporting director Mark Noble, rushed to help protect them from the thugs – who were dressed in black and wearing balaclavas.
Then footage shot by a witness in the stadium showed how one brave fan stepped in to defend those behind him in the terrifying scenes.
Now another brave individual has emerged after they were hailed online following the shock incident.
Known to many as Knollsy, the man is said to have prevented the home fans from reaching the West Ham section with pictures later being posted online showing the supporter, who was left with a torn t-shirt, fighting off a number of balaclava-wearing Dutch ultras.
Freddie Bonfanti was in the crowd last night and he posted on social media: “Knollsy the legend. Stopped the home fans from getting to the players’ families.
“We were stormed by AZ’s supporters. Knollsy has recently had a hip replacement and simply could not run. He is also a proud man and he was genuinely concerned about the players’ partners and ex-West Ham players sitting all around us.
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“He did what he had to do. I am proud to call him a mate and glad he stopped what could have been a much worse incident.
“We were sitting behind [West Ham defender] Thilo Kehrer’s girlfriend. Knollsy was worried about her and walked to the top of the stairwell, fending off the storming Alkmaar fans. He is a lovely bloke and did what he felt was right at the time. He stopped those fans.”
London-born Alkmaar boss Pascal Jansen admitted he was “ashamed” of the ugly scenes, while Moyes also revealed how his elderly father was caught up in the mayhem.
The West Ham boss said: “I can’t explain what happened and why it happened. The 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.”
Lucas Paqueta, Aaron Cresswell, and Flynn Downes were all involved in the chaos too and were held back by security and stewards.
Director of football Noble tried in vain to restrain Michail Antonio, who leapt over advertising hoardings to defend the fans and families.
Members of the Irons coaching staff including Kevin Nolan were seen berating stewards for their failure to intervene.
While captain Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen were also seen confronting members of the crowd, with the former appearing to throw an object in their direction.