Tag: West Ham

AZ issues apology after fans charge West Ham family section

AZ apologized after West Ham fans were attacked by the Dutch side’s ultras following a Europa Conference League semifinal.

AZ has apologized after fans of the Dutch side mounted an attack on a section full of family members of West Ham players and staff.

An ugly season in Dutch soccer stadiums continued Thursday after West Ham’s late 1-0 win at AZ’s AFAS Stadion sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory in the Europa Conference League.

“While everyone hoped for a historic European match, it turned into a pitch black evening due to the events occurring at the referee’s final whistle. It turned into a night to reflect on with shame,” said AZ in a club statement. “Not because of the football game played, but because of the behavior of some visitors. Unfortunately, we cannot use the word ‘supporters’ for these people.”

“What happened is beyond all bounds. The club again sincerely apologizes to West Ham United and the thousands of well-minded AZ supporters who have also been inconvenienced by the misconduct.”

With West Ham celebrating their first European final since 1976, a large group of AZ fans attempted to make their way into a section behind the visitors’ bench, and could be seen on video clashing with stewards and traveling supporters. West Ham players and staff attempted to jump in, though most remained behind advertising boards or were restrained by AZ players.

ESPN reported that the AZ fans broke down a fence to make their move.

“So far, no arrests have been made,” said Dutch police in a statement aired by Sky Sports News on Friday. “Our aim was to disperse the crowd and restore order as quickly as possible, in which we succeeded. The police will investigate footage of the incidents and try to identify supporters. Arrests may follow from this.”

Reuters reported that West Ham fans “accosted” AZ supporters, including the family of manager Pascal Jansen, after the Dutch side scored in the first leg in London.

“It’s annoying, it doesn’t belong in our stadium. Preferably in no stadium,” said Jansen in quotes published by ESPN. “I feel shame. You have to control your emotions, even on a night with a defeat.”

More violence at Dutch matches

In no way could this be called a one-off for fans in the Netherlands, which has seen a series of violent incidents throughout the 2022-23 season.

A PSV fan attempted to attack Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović in February, while Netherlands international Davy Klaassen was left bleeding after being hit in the head by a lighter hurled from the stands by a Feyenoord fan last month.

After Italian police barred Feyenoord fans from attending a Europa League quarterfinal against AS Roma over an incident in 2015, UEFA opted to ban away fans from either leg.

Following the Klaassen incident, the Dutch federation issued new rules requiring referees to halt games immediately upon any fans entering the pitch or throwing objects, and to abandon a game on a second instance.

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Premier League home stretch: Where things stand as season enters its final month

Some teams are having a blast, while others are going through it

The Premier League is getting down to the nitty-gritty.

The end of the season is approaching, with most teams having five or six games left to secure a trophy, a spot in Europe, or just keep themselves in the top flight for another year.

For some teams, the end of the season was expected to be a pressure-cooker, but has instead been something of a celebration. For others, it’s one last chance to fight their way to safety, or at least salvage some pride in an otherwise disappointing season.

Here’s where everyone stands heading into the last month of the 2022-23 season.

Haaland and West Ham honor International Women’s Day in cringeworthy fashion

“This is for all my female fans on this special day!”

It’s International Women’s Day, and Erling Haaland and West Ham are marking the occasion with some well intentioned but very awkward content.

Haaland (or most likely his social media team) posted a special edition IWD word search on Instagram, which was for some reason called a crossword puzzle.

“This is for all my female fans on this special day!” Haaland (or someone paid by Haaland) said. “Here’s my message to each one of you. Can you find it in this crossword puzzle?”

In case you don’t want to actually do the work yourself, we have taken the liberty: “You all make the world a much better place.”

Aw.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CphitVbOkyZ/?hl=en

Joining Haaland in the “good intentions but weird execution” category is West Ham, whose players took to the pitch in training tops with the names of important women in their lives on the back.

Most players opted for their mothers, wives or grandmothers. Great! Who can argue with that? But while “Mum” or “Nan” looks perfectly reasonable, even adorable, on the back of a jersey, this one hits a little different.

Surely she has a name??

Michail Antonio went in a different direction too, though we have absolutely no quibbles with the idea or execution.

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Chelsea can thank their lucky VAR for their win over West Ham

West Ham’s late equalizer was ruled out in a decision Declan Rice called “an absolute disgrace”

Chelsea beat West Ham 2-1 on Saturday, as the Blues were beneficiaries of a late decision that Hammers manager David Moyes branded as “scandalous.”

Kai Havertz gave Chelsea a late lead with an 88th-minute goal but West Ham appeared to have equalized minutes later when Maxwel Cornet found the back of the net after Édouard Mendy came for the ball and was unable to secure it.

But referee Andy Madley was sent to the monitor by VAR Jarred Gillet and deemed Jarrod Bowen to have fouled Mendy in the build-up.

It was, to say the least, a questionable decision, with Mendy coming out and sliding in front of Bowen, who clipped the goalkeeper with his foot as he went over him.

Moyes and Rice slam decision

Moyes was furious with the call after the game, telling the BBC: “It was a scandalous decision — incredible. The goalkeeper spills it, it comes out of his hands about five yards, actually acts like he’s got a sore shoulder because he couldn’t recover the ball, and the referee gave the goal.

“I don’t know who sent him to VAR, but whoever did should get well looked at, as well as the referee.”

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice added: “I can’t say too much because if I say what I think I’ll get fined, but how can you go over to the monitor and call that a foul? It’s an absolute disgrace.”

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West Ham quiere demandar a dueños de estadio por precios de cerveza

Los aficionados se encontraron con unos precios muy elevados por el liquido para esta nueva temporada

Un hecho insólito se está presentando en la Premier League con el West Ham que busca demandar a los dueños de su estadio por el elevado precio de la cerveza.

Los aficionados se encontraron con unos precios muy elevados por el liquido para esta nueva temporada y pusieron el grito en el cielo por lo que la directiva de los Hammers buscó hablar con los de la cervecería con una respuesta negativa.

Para que eso suceda, los dueños del estadio London Stadium tienen que dar el sí ya que no es sencillo reducir los precios nada más por una petición, pero la dirigencia del Wets Ham ya estaría preparando una demanda en contra de los propietarios del London Stadium.

La demanda dice que se deberían tomar una media de los costos de las cervezas de los demás estadios en Londres como el del Chelsea y Arsenal donde se vende el liquido a 5,75 libras en lugar de las 7.30 que cuesta en su estadio.

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OK, maybe Erling Haaland won’t be a huge bust after all

The Premier League is officially on notice

Bad news for anybody hoping Manchester City won’t win another Premier League title this season: Erling Haaland is still pretty good!

Haaland had a difficult start to his City career last weekend, touching the ball just 16 times against Liverpool in the Community Shield and missing an absolute sitter at the end of the game.

Perhaps it would take the prolific Norwegian a little more time than expected to settle into life in England after a move from Borussia Dortmund in the offseason.

But on Sunday, in his Premier League debut, Haaland looked much more like, well … Haaland.

The 22-year-old scored both goals in Man City’s 2-0 win over West Ham, looking generally terrifying throughout.

Haaland won and converted a penalty for City’s opener and then – in perhaps the most ominous sign for City’s rivals – he showed the beginning of what could be a devastating combination with Kevin De Bruyne, who played Haaland in behind West Ham’s defense for City’s second.

After the game, the notoriously goal-hungry Haaland sounded far from satisfied with his brace.

“It was good. [It was a] good start there is nothing much to say other than that and it was 2-0. Good to get some minutes in the legs early in the season and we have to keep going,” he told Sky Sports.

When asked if he could have had a hat trick, he added: “Yes. I should have been there [to connect with Ilkay Gundogan’s cross]. It’s sh––, but that’s how it is!”

Haaland concluded: “Also now it is almost 30 minutes since I scored the last goal so I have to keep going.”

The Premier League is officially on notice.

Watch Haaland’s debut double for Man City

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Golfers who love the Premier League

Find out which professional golfers support which Premier League teams.

The 2022 British Open begins on Thursday at the legendary Old Course at St Andrews, with golf’s biggest stars descending on the United Kingdom.

Many of those same players will be closely watching next month when the Premier League kicks off in England, just a short train ride away from their current location in Scotland.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at which Premier League teams some of the biggest names in golf support.

West Ham defender Zouma pleads guilty to cat abuse

The France international and his brother both pleaded guilty to charges and will be sentenced next month

West Ham defender Kurt Zouma has pleaded guilty to two charges related to a video that showed him kicking and slapping his pet cat.

Zouma sparked outrage in February when a video of the abuse was filmed by his brother Yoan and posted on Snapchat.

The cat, along with another owned by the West Ham defender, has since been taken away and moved to a new home.

Yoan, who plays for English fifth-division side Dagenham & Redbridge, pleaded guilty to one count at a hearing at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Sentencing in the case will take place on June 1.

Zouma, who has apologized for his actions, lost a sponsorship deal with Adidas in the aftermath of the incident and was also fined two weeks of salary by West Ham.

Amid an outcry over Zouma’s actions, however, Hammers manager David Moyes continued to pick the defender.

Prosecutor Hazel Stevens told the court on Tuesday that in the video Zouma could be heard saying: “I swear I’ll kill it, I swear I’ll kill it.”

“Since this footage was put in public domain, there has been a spate of people hitting cats and posting it on various social media sites,” she added.

“Their behavior falls short of what is expected of a high-profile image.”

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