WEST HAM FAN IS RUN OVER BY A ROAD SWEEPER AND LEFT WITH 'LIFE-THREATENING INJURIES' AHEAD OF CLUB'S EUROPA CUP MATCH IN COLOGNE

Reports stated that he may have fallen under the trucks brush
The man, 68, was detained in hospital after the accident last night
Several West Ham fans were banned from entering the Bayer Leverkusen

A West Ham fan has been seriously injured after being hit by a road sweeping vehicle before his club’s Europa Cup match tonight.

The 68-year-old was hit at a pedestrian traffic light near Cologne Cathedral.

Cops said he had suffered ‘life threatening injuries’ and had been detained in hospital after the accident last night.

It was reported he may have fallen under the trucks brushes and suffered head injuries.

The machine then collided with a traffic light pole, which left the driver injured.

Police said the West Ham fan’s condition had stabilized after he had been treated by doctors in hospital where he remained today.

Around 4,000 West Ham fans are believed to have headed for Germany, with only 1,750 having tickets for the quarter final first leg with Bayer Leverkusen.

Hundreds of fans drank and sang into the early hours in bars around the cathedral watched by police, but there were no reports of trouble.

Cologne police are also investigating the murder of a 50-year-old man last night who was stabbed to death.

The incident has not been linked to the fans.

It comes after several West Ham fans were banned from entering the Bayer Leverkusen home end for their Europa League tie to defuse potential crowd trouble.

The move follows an operation involving UEFA, Bayer Leverkusen and police to prevent a repeat of the violence that followed West Ham's match with German side Eintracht Frankfurt in the same tournament two years ago.

There are also safety concerns for any West Ham fan who does beat the tight security and take a place among rival supporters after a German fan was repeatedly punched by Arsenal supporters at the Emirates stadium on Tuesday night.

The German man had evaded the ban on Bayern Munich followers which had been imposed after fireworks were thrown onto the pitch in a Champions League encounter with Italian side Lazio.

Officials in Leverkusen acted after safety concerns were raised after hundreds of West Ham fans secured tickets among Bayer Leverkusen supporters for tomorrow night's Europa Cup quarter final first leg.

An investigation rooted out several hundred West Ham supporters who had joined the Bayer Leverkusen club membership and were then able to buy tickets among home supporters.

They were identified by British addresses or email linked to internet providers and banned.

Bayer were reported to be returning ticket prices of 15 Euros, but it was unclear whether the 35 Euros fans laid out for the obligatory 'Bayer 04 Club' memberships would be returned.

High-flying West Ham were allocated 1,790 seats for their supporters in the 30,000 capacity Bay Arena for the first leg of the last eight tie.

2024-04-11T12:52:22Z dg43tfdfdgfd