In pictures: West Ham fans celebrate first European trophy in 50 years
Thousands of West Ham fans poured into the streets of Prague as the football club won its first trophy in more than 40 years.
Fans danced on tables and kissed each other in pubs across the Czech capital as they watched the Hammers lift the Europa Conference League trophy on Wednesday night.
Supporters chanted “2-1 to the cockney boys” as they watched on from a pub in the city, with thousands having travelled from the UK without tickets.
The final took place at the Fortuna Arena, which has a capacity of around 19,300, with West Ham receiving an official allocation of 5,000.
Supporters watched in bars around the city, including a group who went wild at McCarthy’s Pub in the Old Town area from the moment Jarrod Bowen gave the team the lead in the final minute of the second half.
Standing on the tables, they sang “West Ham are massive everywhere we go.”
Since the final whistle, West Ham fans have lined the streets of Prague chanting “West Ham are massive” and shouting “Irons”, with the fans appearing to be ready for a long night of celebrations.
Thousands of fans gathered in the centre of Prague’s Old Town after the final whistle as supporters from the stadium and fan zone began to join those who watched in the city centre.
West Ham fan Aaron, 18, said it felt “unreal” to win.
“It’s unreal, never felt like it in my life,” he said.
He said his plan for the rest of the night was to “stumble back to the hotel”.
“How we get there I don’t care,” he added.
It came hours after West Ham fans were attacked by Italian supporters in the city centre, prompting police to detain 16 people.
Czech police said three people were injured during the incident, with one police officer being attacked.
One witness said fans of the Italian side were armed with “chains and belt buckles”.
There was also controversy during the match as Cristiano Biraghi of Fiorentina was seen bleeding from the back of the head after he appeared to have been hit by an object thrown from the West Ham stand.
A fan of the London club watching the final in McCarthy’s bar said the incident “won’t look good on West Ham”.
Shortly before the end of the match, the English club put out a statement condemning the behaviour of a “small number of individuals”, adding: “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.”
The club said it would work with police to review the incident and take action against offenders, including implementing lifetime bans.
A West Ham fan who attended the club’s last European final in 1976 said he was feeling “speechless” as the Hammers won 2-1 against Fiorentina in Prague.
Mark Sullivan, 57, from Hackney, north-east London, who was just nine when he attended West Ham’s last European final, the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1976, said he was “speechless” following the result.
Mr Sullivan, who attended the 1976 game with his late father Pat, watched the match on Wednesday at the London Stadium with his 16-year-old son Jack.
He told the PA news agency: “We all thought it was going to extra time, so to have the goal come out of the blue – having to wait for the VAR check didn’t help. But when it goes your way you get to celebrate a goal twice.”
Press Association