Football European Conference League Final: ACF Fiorentina – West Ham United, June 7, 2023, Prague. West Ham United fans in the stands before kick-off.
Prague – According to the Italian and British press, Wednesday's final of the European Conference League between West Ham and Fiorentina (2:1) offered a tense match, which also benefited from the excellent atmosphere in the corridors of Prague's Eden Stadium. It was only marred by an incident in the 33rd minute, when English supporters injured the captain of “Violets” Cristian Biraghi with a plastic cup. The fans of both teams also earned criticism for their behavior before and after the match due to fights in the center of Prague.
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Photo gallery: European Conference League 2022/23
Saíd Benrahma opened the scoring in the final of the second year of the competition with a penalty in the 62nd minute, Fiorentina's midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura equalized in five minutes. Jarrod Bowen decided in the 90th minute. West Ham's victory was also celebrated by Czech representatives Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal, who played the entire match. Among the losers is Antonín Barák, who got into the game from the bench only at the set time. With the victory, the “Hammers” secured participation in the next edition of the European League.
“The disappointment is huge, losing the final with a goal in the 90th minute hurts. Fiorentina lost the trophy and another chance for European cups,” the newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport recalled the defeat of the “Violets” in the final of the Italian Cup and eighth place in Serie A. But even that would in the end, it could be enough to participate in the cup if the seventh-ranked Juventus was punished by a ban due to accounting irregularities.
The media highlight the charge of the duel, which was also contributed to by the benevolent meter of the head referee Carlos del Cerro Grande from Spain. “A tense duel was seen in Prague, sometimes even beyond the border. Also, the resolution of the final took place in the most dramatic way,” the BBC website reported. “Both camps of fans created a fantastic atmosphere at Eden which carried the players too,” added Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Italian and British press agree that the more effective team won. West Ham won a European trophy after 58 years, winning the Cup Winners' Cup in the 1964/65 season. The team from Florence is waiting even longer, they won the same competition in 1960/61.
“Fiorentina's dream of a big trophy was dashed in Eden at the very end. The Italian team played at least an equal game, maybe even better during the match. A very bitter defeat,” assessed the daily Corriere dello Sport.
“For the triumph It didn't look like it for West Ham for long, the first half was played to one goal. “The Hammers only got up after the break,” wrote Sky Sports, who condemned the behavior of the English fans. During the opening act, they pelted the opposing players with plastic cups and one of them hit captain Biraghi in the head. Due to the treatment of a laceration, he did not play for several minutes.
“Biraghi's injury and the scuffles in the city center put a damper on the otherwise stormy atmosphere during the match itself,” Sky Sports recalled the clashes between fans of both teams before the match and conflicts with the police during the celebrations after the duel. On Wednesday afternoon, police arrested 16 people.
“The preparations for the grand final were marred by violence in the streets,” noted The Independent. “The incidents will certainly have consequences. UEFA must punish the behavior of the West Ham fans in the first half,” wrote the BBC website. The London club assured in a statement after the match that it would investigate the events and punish the culprits.
