A violent clash between fans led to 20 West Ham and one Palermo supporter being arrested, as bottles and chairs were thrown across the city centre. 500 people were involved in the brutal conflict which left 17 people, including five police officers, in hospital.
  Tensions were running high in the Sicilian city when, as at their previous game, t-shirts bearing the slogan 'Hammers v The Mafia' angered the Palermo fans. This is not the first time there have been football related problems in the city; just eight days before this atrocious event Palermo fans clashed with rival Catania supporters.
   The attacks started at midnight, and took riot-clad police officers over an hour to control, as the violence raged on. One eyewitness reported " West Ham fans behaved like animals, roaming the streets, searching for anyone to fight." 
   West Ham supporters were taken away from the city in three buses but police officers were unable to break up the brawl, and were eventually pulled in to the crowd. A Police spokesman said "It was a huge battle that took more than an hour to control."
  More than 2,500 West Ham fans travelled to Palermo to watch the game and the police said extra security was in place. They added " We had been alert already ahead of the match, and we are now increasing the security further."
  Palermo went on to win their UEFA cup match 3-0, with Brazilian midfielder Fabio Simplicio scoring twice and David Di Michele scoring one. This put them ahead with 4-0 on aggregrate, not easing tensions in the city.