West Ham fan “Knollsy”, as he’s known to his friends, has written himself into the club’s history books. He’s become somewhat of a cult hero within the footballing community after fighting off hordes of aggressive and angry AZ Alkmaar ultras after the semifinal UEFA Conference League game between the two sides.
The 0-1 defeat was too much for the hooligans to take and they reacted in shocking fashion by making their way to the section of the stands where friends and family of the players were sat during the game. It was a sinister attack on those most vulnerable, and had it not been for the heroics of ‘Knollsy‘, the consequences could well have been worse.
Video footage shows the fan fighting off, one by one, at least a hundred hooligans of the Dutch side, who were all dressed in black. He threw lethal punches and kicks and resembled like a knight singlehandedly fighting off an army in the AFAS Stadium. It was an extremely brave decision; especially given he was hugely outnumbered.
Despite the ultras best efforts, they were unable to get past an immovable ‘Knollsy”, who stood firm against the tide of black. As seen in the footage, it appears that one other man was also bravely lending his mate a hand.
Thousands of football fans took to Twitter to express their admiration for the man’s bravery. “Not a West Ham fan but fair play to them two and making a stand,” said one. “That’s an amalgam of the 300, Game of Thrones (Hodor) and Star Wars Episode 3 (the high ground). Outstanding work,” commented another.
