The riots were apparently started by Anderlecht supporters who ripped up seats at the London Stadium and used them as ammunition against the home fans. Flares and cannonballs also ignited in the guests’ cauldron, which were also used to attack the opponents.
One of the flares also landed on the field. The match had to be stopped for a while because of an intruder on the field who tried to take the ball away from the home goalkeeper Alphonso Areola.
The away fans were particularly fired up after Anderlecht converted a penalty late in the match.
According to the British station BBC, several policemen were injured in the intervention against the riots.
The Belgian club apologized for the behavior of its supporters after the West Ham game. “We do not tolerate such behavior either in our stadium or away from home. We will solve it with the fans and UEFA. We apologize to West Ham,” Anderlecht said in a statement.
Defender Vladimír Coufal played the entire match for the home side, his compatriot Tomáš Souček stepped in for the last quarter of an hour.
