Violence between opposing fans erupted across multiple games in the Europa League for the second consecutive round of fixtures last night.
Last month, several arrests were made during Leicester City’s match against Napoli, and similar scenes of fan clashes occurred this week in France and England.
In the closing stages of the first half, Marseille’s goalless draw with Galatasaray was halted for eight minutes due to crowd violence and projectiles being thrown.
UEFA’s live match blog stated that the referee had paused the game due to “security reasons related to pyrotechnics.” Images showed rival fans hurling lit flares at each other, with one landing on the ground.
In an attempt to de-escalate the situation, Galatasaray manager Fatih Terim and respective club captains Fernando Muslera and Dimitri Payet approached the area of the pitch closest to the fighting fans.
Marseille was involved in a crowd trouble incident for the second time this season; in August, their Ligue 1 match against Nice was called off due to a mass brawl involving fans, players, and staff.
After the home crowd threw water bottles at Marseille players, one of which appeared to hit Payet, fans eventually overcame security and spilled onto the pitch for the ensuing mass melee.
Nice was given a two-point penalty and was ordered to replay the match, which would be held in a neutral venue and behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, West Ham’s well-deserved 2-0 win over Rapid Vienna in London was overshadowed by similar scenes of crowd violence.
Images appeared to show multiple projectiles, including a water cooler, being thrown between the home and away sections of the London Stadium.
Following Declan Rice’s first-half goal, reports surfaced of some traveling Rapid Vienna fans attempting to jump over barriers and through security perimeters to approach the home fans.
During the UEFA Europa League Group H match at the London Stadium, London, a water cooler is thrown among fans in the stands.
After the game, West Ham manager David Moyes revealed that he had seen the trouble from his sideline position.
“I don’t know exactly how it started, I don’t know where it started, but I was aware of some things being thrown,” Moyes said.
“We want to be a club regularly in Europe, and because of that, we want to behave correctly. I don’t know who started it, but we don’t want that reputation. We want to be seen as a club who can travel to Europe and everybody welcomes us,” Moyes added.
The shady scenes put a damper on what had been another successful night in Europe for the Hammers, who now lead Group H after three wins in a row.
With a neat finish in added time, Said Benrahma ensured West Ham’s victory, and his side will now look to advance as group winners with back-to-back matches against Belgium’s Genk.
