Riot police keep a close eye on West Ham fans in Prague’s Old Town Square as 25,000 flood into Czech capital for tonight’s Europa Conference League final… but only 5,000 have tickets
- Czech authorities ramped up security ahead for the Conference League final
- An estimated 10,000 officers have been drafted in from across the country
- Thousands of fans will watch the final in Prague despite not having tickets
Riot police have been keeping a watchful eye on West Ham supporters in Prague with over 25,000 having made the trip to the Czech capital for tonight’s Europa Conference League final.
Hammers fans have descended on Prague despite only 5,000 having tickets for the showpiece against Fiorentina.
Supporters have been seen lighting flares in Prague’s Old Town Square in the hours leading up to kick-off.
Pictures have shown riot police in the square as Czech authorities seek to avoid any potential flashpoints.
Authorities confirmed last month that police would be drafted in from all over the Czech Republic to boost the numbers to more than 10,000 officers.
Czech authorities have ramped up security ahead of the Europa Conference League final
Riot police have been pictured in Old Town Square in Prague in the build-up to tonight’s final
An estimated 25,000 West Ham supporters have travelled to the Czech Republic for the final
Fans have taken over Old Town Square with Czech authorities keeping a watchful eye
The final will take place at the 20,800 capacity Fortuna Arena, which is the home of Slavia Prague.
UEFA called an emergency meeting in the host city last month, with representatives of Britain’s National Police Chief’s Council, Scotland Yard, Italian and Prague Police participating.
The meeting came amid efforts to ease concerns about potential trouble between supporters.
The move came in the aftermath of West Ham’s semi-final against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
West Ham’s victory in the second leg was marred when AZ Alkmaar ultras attacked innocent Hammers fans following the final whistle.
UEFA have faced criticism over decision to stage the final at the Fortuna Arena, which has led to small allocations for both West Ham and Fiorentina supporters.
Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi has a capacity of 43,147 while West Ham’s London Stadium can seat around 66,000.
Former West Ham star Joe Cole was among those to have criticised the choice of venue.
An estimated 10,000 officers from across the Czech Republic have been drafted in for the final
Anti-conflict team police officers have been pictured as part of the Czech security operation
West Ham will be appearing in their first European final since 1976’s Cup Winner’s Cup
‘I want to help people but there’s only 5,000 [tickets] for West Ham fans which is absurd,’ Cole told MailOnline.
‘You feel for the fans in that, because it’s the biggest game in the club’s recent history and they can’t get there. It’s a real boo boo by UEFA.’
An area around rival club side Sparta Prague’s Generali Česká Pojišťovna Arena will be used as a fan zone to help one set of ticketless fans view the match on giant screens, he revealed.
Rival supporters will be marshalled to a second fan zone at Výstaviště Praha, which is also called the Prague Exhibition Ground, to watch the final on screens.
In between them will be thousands of armed police and riot officers to help keep trouble to a minimum.
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