West Ham fan ‘Knollsy’ has spoken out after receiving praise for fending off a mob of AZ Alkmaar fans.
Trouble erupted inside the AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar after West Ham’s 1-0 victory, which sent the English side through to the Europa Conference League final.
Pablo Fornals scored the only goal of the game in the dying seconds of the match, and a group of violent AZ Alkmaar fans attempted to attack a section of West Ham’s travelling support after the final whistle.
Footage of a couple of West Ham fans fending off a huge group of AZ fans soon went viral on social media.
Read more: West Ham fans applauded for fending off AZ Alkmaar mob after 1-0 semi-final win
Among the supporters praised for his role in preventing the AZ hooligans from reaching the West Ham players’ families is Chris Knoll - also known as ‘Knollsy’.
The 58-year-old has been labelled a ‘legend’ by West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola for putting himself in harm’s way. Areola’s wife, Marrion, also described him as the ‘biggest hero’.
What has West Ham fan 'Knollsy' said?
However, Knollsy insists he’s “no hero” - and says he simply doesn’t “like bullies”.
“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,” the father of four, who was left with a swollen left eye, told MailOnline, per talkSPORT.
“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.”
Knollsy was at the game with his son-in-law and a close friend. He anticipated what was about to unfold after Fornals’ late winner.
He continued: “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.
“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.
“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.”
He added: “If you’ve seen the pictures, there’s about five or six guys in front of me and I’m sort of trying to fend them off.
“Somehow, I don’t know how, two got behind me, right. And as I’m dealing with the other guys, there’s one guy who’s just constantly bagging me in the side of the head.
“That’s what caused the bruised eye. It’s not too bad, but I might go to the hospital to get it checked out.”
Despite his experience in Alkmaar, Knollsy is still hoping to bag a ticket for the final, where West Ham will take on Italian side Fiorentina in Prague on June 7.
He said: “If I can get a ticket and a couple for the two who were with me in Amsterdam, I will be there to cheer on the Hammers.
“I’d love to be at the final. Hopefully it will be trouble free and we can just enjoy and fantastic match.”