Fiorentina released a statement condemning the West Ham United fans who left Cristiano Biraghi bleeding from a head wound, warning it ‘obviously affected the performance of the footballer and his team-mates’ with ‘threats to their safety.’
The Conference League Final was suspended for several minutes at the Eden Arena in Prague when West Ham supporters continually threw objects onto the pitch, including at least a dozen hard plastic beer glasses with handles.
While taking a corner kick, Biraghi was struck by several of these and also what appeared to be an electronic cigarette that left him with a gaping head wound.
“Fiorentina strongly condemn what happened to their captain, Cristiano Biraghi, during the Conference League final between Fiorentina and West Ham last night,” read a statement.
“Biraghi was hit on the head by an object thrown from the stand housing West Ham fans in the 33rd minute of the first half while he was about to take a corner kick.
“This unacceptable behaviour obviously affected the performance of the footballer and his team-mates, who had their attention drawn away from footballing matters by the threats to their own safety.
“The Viola captain, despite suffering a deep wound to his head requiring eight stitches, continued to play on. Biraghi displayed the values of fairness, integrity and sportsmanship which should be the benchmark for all football and that Fiorentina seek to champion with all of their power.
“The club is certain that UEFA will thoroughly evaluate the incident and duly punish those responsible for this act, delivering an appropriate response and setting an example so that such situations never occur again.”
It was noted that only a few years ago, a player being struck by an object and left bleeding from the head would’ve resulted in the immediate abandonment of the match and the result handed to the team under attack.
Biraghi at no point went down or tried to gain sympathy, instead staying on his feet and sarcastically applauding the hooligans behind the goal.
Fiorentina President Rocco Commisso called the West Ham fans “animals” after the 2-1 defeat.