West Ham have accepted the sanctions handed down to them by UEFA following the Europa League clash with Genk and will not be appealing the ban on away fans attending the fixture against Rapid Vienna.
UEFA punished West Ham with a ban on the club selling tickets to fans for their next away Europa League match after the governing body determined there were "crowd disturbances" and the "throwing of objects" during the match against Genk.
UEFA fined West Ham a total of £29,260, made up of £25,444 for the crowd disturbances and £3,816 for the objects being thrown.
football.london understand the crowd disturbance charges relate to a number of ticketless West Ham supporters forcing their way into the Cegeka Stadium in Genk overwhelming the stewards and gaining entry to the match.
West Ham are disappointed with the severity of the punishment handed down but have accepted UEFA's sanctions instead of risking losing an appeal and seeing fans banned from an away knock-out match in 2022 or potentially having the ban extended if the appeal was deemed frivolous..
"West Ham United can confirm that the club has reluctantly accepted sanctions from UEFA in relation to our Europa League Group H away fixture against KRC Genk on Thursday 4 November," a club statement said.
"This means that our supporters will, regrettably, not be permitted to travel for our next Europa League away fixture – against Rapid Vienna on Thursday 25 November.
"The club’s acceptance of the sanctions follows receipt of the written reasons from UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) relating to the incidents which have led to West Ham United supporters being unable to attend the fixture in Vienna and the Club being fined.
"Despite the club’s robust processes around our own security and operations in support of our ticketed fans who travelled to Genk, evidence has been presented to confirm that a small number of ticketless individuals caused disturbances and illegally gained entrance to Genk’s stadium.
"West Ham United condemn the behaviour of this group of individuals and we are working to identify them following their actions, which have now ultimately led to our supporters – the vast majority of whom behaved impeccably in Belgium – being punished and resulting in David Moyes’ team being forced to play in Austria without the backing of the club’s fans, whose loyal and passionate support has spurred the Hammers on during an unbeaten opening four games of the Europa League adventure so far.
"While the club accepts the sanctions, we also wish to place on record our disappointment at the extremely short notice of the measures, which were received 11 days after the fixture in Genk and just over a week ahead of the match against Rapid Vienna which has limited our options significantly, and has sadly impacted supporters who have booked return travel and accommodation in Austria. The club has had to consider these supporters and the impact on them both for this fixture and future fixtures if this process was subject to further delays.
"Supporters who have already purchased tickets from West Ham United for the fixture in Vienna next week will automatically be refunded via their original form of payment.
"Now that attendance at the match is no longer permitted, West Ham United strongly urges supporters NOT to travel to Vienna next week. Fans will not be granted access to the Allianz Stadion and any attempt to enter the stadium could lead to further sanctions for the individuals and the club in the future."
