West Ham fan 'Knollsy' praised for protecting families from AZ Alkmaar fans

A West Ham supporter has been praised for helping defend families from a gang of AZ Alkmaar football hooligans.

Video posted online showed the man, who has been identified as a long-time fan of the club called 'Knollsy', stood at the top of steps inside the stadium keeping dozens of Alkmaar supporters at bay following their Europa Conference League semi-final clash on Thursday night.

His actions, along with those of a small number of other West Ham fans, have been widely praised amid reports they were preventing the gang reaching the family stand.

Freddie Bonfanti, who said he was there at the time of the incident, wrote on Twitter: "We were stormed by Az’s supporters.

"Knollsy has recently had a hip replacement and simply could not run. He’s also a proud man and he was genuinely concerned about the players’ partners and ex west ham players sitting all around us. 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."

Bonfanti added: "A bit of context: we were sitting behind Thilo Kerher’s girlfriend. Knollsy was worried about her and walked to the top of the stairwell, fending off the storming Alkmaar fans. He’s a lovely bloke and did what he felt was right at the time. He stopped those fans."

A video posted by fansite West Ham Central praising Knollsy shows the confrontation between the two sets of fans take place amid a flurry of punches. Some West Ham fans have pointed out that the incident involving Knollsy took place further along the stadium.

It has also emerged that West Ham captain Declan Rice has previously sent a short video to Knollsy sending him "best wishes".

Separate video taken at the scene shows the moment the Alkmaar fans appear to push through a metal fence to escalate the confrontation.

A group of men wearing hoods swarmed the West Ham supporters' stands, in an apparent attempt to attack the families of West Ham players.

Video shows the fans seemingly push the fence over and overwhelm security guards in numbers.

Some of the players also attempted to intervene as the rival fans rushed towards their families, with West Ham's Michail Antonio, Flynn Downes, Lucas Paqueta and Said Benrahma running towards the brawl.

West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola told The Daily Mail: "I had family watching the game. We were a bit worried about them, you know? Security is the most important thing in a stadium, especially in this kind of event and we were worried about our families.

"We were very worried about our families. It's just about security and it was a bit too open for the opposing fans. At the end, they managed to stop them."

Dutch police said arrests could follow as they analyse footage of the attack.

"Our aim was to disperse the crowd and restore order as quickly as possible, in which we succeeded," they said in a statement.

"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."