At least 20 West Ham fans were arrested and another six injured after ‘a huge battle’ with Palermo supporters in Sicily last night. The two clubs play each other tonight, in the second leg of their Uefa Cup tie. Palermo won the first leg 1-0 and are strong favourites to progress to the lucrative group stages.
According to Guardian Unlimited, ‘the
violence started around midnight and continued for more than an hour as
rival groups threw bottles and chairs at each other in Palermo’s Teatro
Massimo. Palermo police spokesman Virgilio Alberelli said 500 people
were involved in the brawl, and when officers tried to break it up they
also came under missile attack. One eyewitness told Guardian Unlimited:
"West Ham fans behaved like animals, roaming the streets, bottles in
hand searching for anyone to fight."’
Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest pr move to sell Mafia-themed t-shirts outside of Upton Park two weeks ago. Should be a tasty match tonight.