West Ham fan 'Knollsy' given ovation at first game since fighting off hooligans
West Ham fan 'Knollsy' was given a heartwarming ovation from fellow supporters as his heroic actions in Alkmaar were hailed.
The 58-year-old supporter went viral on social media following the Hammers' Europa Conference League victory on Thursday evening. As the side celebrated reaching the final, their away support was charged by AZ ultras, with violent scenes marring the victory.
Knollsy - real name Chris Knoll - elected to defend his fellow supporters in fighting off the invaders. His actions were praised during the Hammers' final home Premier League game of the season against Leeds on Sunday. Supporters gave a standing ovation to Knoll, whilst his name was also chanted at the London Stadium.
Supporters sang: "We love you Knollsy, we do," as he took his seat in the arena ahead of the clash with Sam Allardyce's Leeds side. Following the shocking scenes in Alkmaar, Knoll has explained why he decided to step in.
He said: "I don't like bullies. You could see they were intent on causing trouble and I did not want them to get to those behind us. I saw them all congregate on the side of the pitch and then they broke down the barriers and headed to the first group of West Ham fans.
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"I know what they were intent on doing and was not going to let it happen. It was fairly obvious what was going to happen because they were intent on coming to us. They were the ultras, you could see that from what they were wearing. I just decided I wasn't going to let them come up.
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"I just thought the best form of defence would be to get to the top of the stairs where they were coming up and just stood there and tried to stop them. I know they were swinging punches and I just did my best to stand there and take it."
Fortunately, Knolls was not too badly injured in the violent scenes. He suffered a bruised eye and a few marks to his face but was otherwise unscathed.
The same cannot quite be said of his T-shirt, which was ripped as the violence broke out. Some of the West Ham players were quickly made aware of his actions over in the Netherlands.
Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola hailed him as a "legend". Elsewhere, West Ham stars Michail Antonio and Flynn Downes leapt over the hoardings closely followed by teammates Lucas Paqueta and Said Benrahma to try and rescue their loved ones.
While supporters hailed their Alkmaar hero, they were soon left frustrated as the Hammers fell 1-0 down to Leeds through Rodrigo's eye-catching volley.
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