Declan Rice and three other West Ham stars could be punished by Uefa after protecting families from AZ thugs
WEST HAM players face potential punishment by UEFA after jumping to the stands to protect their families at AZ Alkmaar.
The Hammers defeated Alkmaar 1-0 in the Europa Conference League semi-finals on Thursday to seal a place in the final where they will face Fiorentina on June 7 in Prague.
However, the East Londoners’ celebrations didn’t last long as a number of AZ thugs attacked the visitors’ section, which included the players and coaching staff’s family members.
Captain Declan Rice, Said Benrahma, Flynn Downes and Michail Antonio all tried to intervene once the horrific scenes unfolded and looked set to jump to the stands.
According to The Telegraph, they could all face a UEFA ban unless they could convince a commission these were exceptional circumstances.
The football governing body may allow the process to run past next month’s final.
That means Rice, Benrahma, Downes and Antonio are “highly unlikely” to be barred from the crucial clash with Fiorentina.
However, UEFA officials will also feel that they have to follow the process.
There is a strong feeling West Ham players were left with no other choice but to intervene when AZ yobs swarmed their relatives, friends and other guests.
But the post-match events are likely to be included in the official report, with the possibility of a charge under article 15 regarding misconduct of players and officials.
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Alkmaar will also be charged for the behaviour of their supporters after the match.
The Eredivisie outfit face a stadium ban over the chaos as the club was responsible for security as the hosts.
West Ham’s first-team coach Kevin Nolan urged UEFA to issue some tough punishments.
Nolan said: “I am disgusted that they would come and go for family, which is what they did”.