Ugly scenes at Europa final with Aviva set to host next year's showpiece

Ugly scenes marred Wednesday's Europa Conference League final as crowd trouble became one of the main talking points.

West Ham beat Fiorentina 2-1 with a late Jarrod Bowen goal securing a first piece of silverware for the Hammers since 1980, but there were some disturbing scenes before, during and after the game.

The Mirror reports that West Ham fans were attacked by Fiorentina ultras in the host city of Prague hours before the game got underway, with some supporters taken to hospital with injuries.

READ MORE: Ugly scenes as West Ham fans attacked ahead of Europa Conference League final with Fiorentina

During the game, objects were thrown by West Ham fans onto the pitch in the direction of Fiorentina players as they attempted to take corner kicks, with one object striking Cristiano Biraghi, leaving the Fiorentina captain with a gash on the back of his head.

The game was stopped momentarily as the referee spoke with a UEFA delegate pitchside, with a notice coming over the PA system imploring fans to respect players.

(Petr David Josek/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

After the final whistle, amidst the jubilant West Ham celebrations, some supporters made their way onto the pitch forcing Jarrod Bowen to push one fan away as he tried to conduct his post-match interview.

These incidents continue a worrying trend of issues at UEFA finals, with UEFA themselves to blame for last year's worrying scenes at the Champions League final in Paris.

All these incidents raise concerns ahead of next year's UEFA Europa League final which will be held at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

(PA)

While this year's Europa League final appears to have been free of crowd trouble, there still were unseemly moments in the aftermath of the game as Roma manager Jose Mourinho angrily confronted referee Anthony Taylor in the car park after the game.

This will be the first UEFA final to be held in Dublin since the 2011 final which saw Porto beat Braga 2-1.

Dublin has been awarded this final as compensation for not being able to host matches at Euro 2020 due to the covid pandemic.

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