West Ham fan Chris Knoll has shot to fame after his recent heroics - and he now has an action figure selling for big bucks on eBay.
The supporter, known as 'Knollsy', single-handedly held off hooligans in Holland following West Ham's win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League semi-final. Several fans from the Dutch side targeted the area of the stadium where players' family and friends were housed.
Knoll took it upon himself to protect those connected with the Hammers and now enjoys folk hero status after fending off dozens of rival fans, leaving him with a ripped shirt and bruises on his face. His actions have earned him the nickname the ‘Angel of Alkmaar’ and now a one-time figurine has been designed and is available for purchase on eBay.
The action figure sees Knoll wearing the same clothes he wore on that night in Alkmaar with bruising visible on his face. So far more than 45 people have already lodged bids with the price currently standing at £620. Bidding doesn't end until 5.05pm on Thursday, which leaves plenty of time for the price to continue soaring.
The seller said: "I was inspired to make this custom made and hand painted figure with unique matching packaging. It took approx 28 hrs to complete and will look great on display. It is a complete one-off."
Knoll's heroics have seen him handed a ticket for the final in Prague against Fiorentina next month, but he denies the notion that he is a hero despite his fellow supporters singing his name during the 3-1 win over Leeds at the London Stadium last time out.
He told the Daily Mail: "I’m not a hero. I just did what I had to do. There was another guy who was fending them off. I don’t like bullies and just had to try and stop them. I just thought the best form of defence was to attack. You could see they were intent on causing trouble and I did not want them to get to those behind us."
AZ Alkmaar has since condemned the violence and apologised in a club statement said: "It turned into a night to reflect on with shame. Not because of the football game played, but because of the behaviour of some attending. Unfortunately, we cannot use the word “supporters” for these people.
"What happened is beyond all bounds. The club again sincerely apologises to West Ham and the thousands of well-minded AZ supporters who have also been inconvenienced by the misconduct."
