A West Ham supporter has died in Belgium after being struck by a train while following his team in the city of Gent.
The British fan, 57, was there to watch West Ham draw 1-1 with the Belgian side in Thursday night's UEFA Conference League. He was later involved in a fatal collision with a train at Gent's Sint-Pieters station.
Emergency services raced to the scene and transported the victim to a hospital in the city. Sadly, though, the 57-year-old was later pronounced dead by doctors.
The prosecutor's office in East Flanders described the fan's death as an "unfortunate accident". Train services in the area were disrupted for hours before returning to normal around 3am on Friday.
West Ham saw their 100 per cent record in the competition ended by Gent, with David Moyes admitting that the result was better than his side's performance. Danny Ings put the Hammers ahead against the run of play just before half-time with the first European goal of his career.
But Gent, who currently sit fourth in the Belgian first division, deservedly levelled the scoreline in the second half through Hugo Cuypers. And Hein Vanhaezebrouck's side could have taken a lead to the London Stadium for next week's second leg when Nigerian striker Gift Orban rattled the crossbar with a scissor kick.
Former West Ham midfielder Joe Cole was scathing of the display, and said on BT Sport : "We're lucky it's still in our hands. There was not enough intensity in the play. For a lot of these players this is as close as they will ever come to winning a European trophy. West Ham have got away with one tonight."
Moyes insisted that the Hammers had not taken their unfancied opponents lightly, despite making six changes to his starting line-up with one eye on the Premier League relegation battle and a visit from leaders Arsenal on Sunday. "Overall it was a really tough game, very physical, Gent were very strong and made it very difficult for us," the Hammers boss continued post-match.
"I don't think we were underestimating them. I think when you get to this stage of the competition, into the final eight, there are not many bad teams wherever you go. I think you will find everyone has worked really hard to be here and they don’t want to give up a chance to make a semi-final. We knew that would be the case. We knew it would be tough and it proved to be.
"I didn't think the performance was good but the result was not a bad result. In cup competitions we know what can happen. We're away from home, facing a strong crowd, and Gent played very well tonight."
