West Ham supporters were ambushed by masked Eintracht Frankfurt ultras at a pub in the German city last night, raising tensions of further trouble to come during this evening's Europa League semi-final second leg.
Video footage posted online showed fans of the Premier League club being attacked at Waxy's Irish pub in the city centre while they watched Real Madrid's Champions League win over Manchester City. A larger number of West Ham supporters had gathered in a nearby bar, O'Reilly's, but were not targeted.
One video showed West Ham fans inside the bar being pelted with missiles. Several returned fire, including one throwing a full pint of beer as the German supporters retreated. Elsewhere, West Ham supporters were heard singing the controversial "10 German bombers" chant, which UEFA have previously warned could lead to punishment.
On Tuesday night four travelling supporters were injured in clashes with one male ending up in hospital for treatment. Local police said in a statement: "The injured guest, a 34-year-old man from Britain, was taken to hospital for medical treatment."
A significant number of Frankfurt fans are understood to have been arrested following the incidents, while no West Ham supporters have been. Up to 3,000 ticketless West Ham fans are believed to be making the trip amid fears that some could make it into the home sections for the match.
Last week's first leg was marred by two German radio commentators being attacked by home fans inside London Stadium while live on air shortly after Michail Antonio scored. Two supporters were swiftly identified by West Ham and their details passed on to the police.
"As well as continuing our own investigation, in line with our zero-tolerance approach, the offenders details have also been passed onto the police, who will now conduct their own investigation," a club spokesman said.
Fans had also fought in Spain last month when both teams were playing separate round of 16 matches 24 hours apart in Seville.
Frankfurt lead the tie 2-1 after the first leg and West Ham manager David Moyes has stressed the importance of game management in the club's biggest game for almost half a century.
“We have to chase the game because we’re a goal down, but not necessarily from minute one,” Moyes said. “We need to manage the game correctly. Frankfurt are a goal up and need to manage it correctly – sometimes that’s a worry as well.”
