West Ham fans riot in Sicily
More than 500 West Ham and Palermo fans were last night involved in a huge riot on the streets of Sicily, leaving 17 people injured.
Thursday night saw football hooliganism take place on the streets of Sicily when more than 500 supporters came together around midnight. The West Ham fans, who had just seen their team lose 3.0 to the Italian club, were said to have been seen outside pubs shouting abuse to the Palermo supporters as they walked by.
After the fighting had taken place, it took 50 police officers, dressed in riot clothing, to calm the situation. 17 people left the scene with minor injuries, with 6 of those being police, 6 being english fans and the other 5 were palermo fans. The police arrested 21 citizens with 20 of those being english. Both sets of fans were armed with bottles, cans, glasses and chairs. These 20 englishmen and the only Italian fan will today appear before an Itailian court following their arrest.
It is thought that the trouble really started two weeks ago when the West Ham supporters wore shirts that read: "The Hammers v The mafia."
Nearly 2500 West Ham fans travelled to Italy for the second leg tie.
A police spokesperson said extra security was in place for last nights game.
He added "The clashes were in the city centre between two groups of fans which left the streets covered with glass."
"It was a huge battle that took more than a hour to control."
Authorities in Britain are expected to set banning orders on the fans found to be guilty of causing the trouble on the Sicily streets.
A Scotland yard spokesman said: "Officers have travelled to Palermo to work with he Italian authorities in relation to the game featuring West Ham United FC"
After the fighting had taken place, it took 50 police officers, dressed in riot clothing, to calm the situation. 17 people left the scene with minor injuries, with 6 of those being police, 6 being english fans and the other 5 were palermo fans. The police arrested 21 citizens with 20 of those being english. Both sets of fans were armed with bottles, cans, glasses and chairs. These 20 englishmen and the only Italian fan will today appear before an Itailian court following their arrest.
It is thought that the trouble really started two weeks ago when the West Ham supporters wore shirts that read: "The Hammers v The mafia."
Nearly 2500 West Ham fans travelled to Italy for the second leg tie.
A police spokesperson said extra security was in place for last nights game.
He added "The clashes were in the city centre between two groups of fans which left the streets covered with glass."
"It was a huge battle that took more than a hour to control."
Authorities in Britain are expected to set banning orders on the fans found to be guilty of causing the trouble on the Sicily streets.
A Scotland yard spokesman said: "Officers have travelled to Palermo to work with he Italian authorities in relation to the game featuring West Ham United FC"