Seven detained and ten more sought after AZ Alkmaar…

Seven detained and ten more sought after AZ Alkmaar fans’ attack on West Ham players’ families

Seven men have been detained by Dutch police, while ten more are being sought after AZ Alkmaar supporters attempted to attack the families of West Ham’s players and staff last Thursday night.

Following the conclusion of West Ham’s 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar at the AFAS Stadion, a group of Alkmaar fans broke through a fence to charge towards the VIP area of the ground, where the families of the Hammers’ players and staff were situated.

As a result of the incident, 26 men have reported to the police, as per Reuters, seven of whom have been detained, with ten more still being sought by the police.

As a result of the incident, Dutch police used a television programme on Tuesday to appeal for help in identifying the hooligans, showing images of suspects involved in the attack on Osporing Verzocht (translates as investigation required).

After identifying 24 suspects, police had given them a deadline of Tuesday afternoon to identify themselves to police and while 26 people came forward, the Dutch police are still on the search for ten more men in connection to the attacks.

A police spokesman told the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper: “There were people who we were not initially looking for, but who were afraid that they were in one of the photos. It is therefore not the case that they are automatically all suspected of open violence."

After not identifying themselves before the deadline, pictures of the ten men sought after were shown on Tuesday night’s programme, as well as being published on the show’s website.

In the TV programme, footage showed one fan kicking a West Ham player, although his face was obscured.

AZ Alkmaar called the attacks “shameful” and as a result of them, the municipality of Nijmegen banned Alkmaar supporters from attending their 3-0 win over NEC Nijmegen on Sunday in the Eredivisie.

Reports from the Telegraph have suggested that West Ham quartet Declan Rice, Michail Antonio, Said Benrahma and Flynn Downes are at risk of being handed a UEFA charge for their involvement in the incident. However, speaking after Sunday’s 3-1 win over Leeds United, Hammers boss David Moyes said he was not concerned about a charge potentially looming over the quartet.

“I can’t see any problem, to be honest,” said Moyes. “I work with UEFA on the technical stuff and I don’t think we’ll have any questions asked about that, that’s my own opinion.”

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