Fan trouble overshadows Anderlecht’s Europa League victory over Real Sociedad | OneFootball

What should have been seen as an excellent win away from home for Anderlecht in Europa has been overshadowed by actions from a section of their supporters. The Mauves came back from 1-0 to grab a 2-1 win against the La Liga side and maintain a perfect start to this years competition. However, the post match press conferences was dominated by incidents that happened in the stands.

During the first half, a section of the Anderlecht support were seen to be throwing chairs over the barricade into the home section. As a result, Spanish police entered the Anderlecht end and arrested eight fans. This did not stop the violence however, with police then entering the stands to begin trying to stop anymore acts such as these with a more ‘hands on’ approach. Het Nieuwsblad has received footage showing how the events unfolded.

Anderlecht have since released a statement apologising to their opponents and promising that there will be consequences for fans involved in throwing chairs. Real Sociedad head coach Imanol Alguacil said post match that he believed the game should have been stopped and was at a loss as to why it had not been. Mikel Oyarzabal also claimed that the players asked the referee to stop the match but they were ignored.

Its certain that UEFA will come down hard on the club after this and a likely ban on away fans from their next European fixture not in Belgium, which would be away to RFS of Latvia.

After two matches, Anderlecht currently sit fifth in the Europa League table.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson