West Ham United Rewards Fan Who Single-Handedly Fought Off Mob Of Angry Hooligans At A Game

West Ham United fan Charles Knoll fighting hooligans at a match

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You don’t need to be a diehard soccer fan to know some people take the sport very, very, very seriously—including plenty of supporters who belong to the de facto gangs associated with many clubs around the globe.

It’s not rare to see members of those opposing factions attempt to settle their differences with some good, old-fashioned violence that has plagued the game for decades, and teams have been forced to turn to some very unconventional solutions in an attempt to keep rival sides from going after each other.

However, there was only so much the powers that be could do to keep order when West Ham United faced off against AZ Alkmaar earlier this month in a Europa Conference League match that devolved into chaos when a group of hooligans (also known as “ultras”) supporting the latter attempted to storm a section of the stadium occupied by the family and friends of their visiting English opponents.

A hero ultimately emerged in the form of a West Ham supporter known as “Knollsy,” who went viral after he was filmed fending off the mob of Alkmaar fans who tried (and largely failed) to invade the area of the stands he successfully defended.

According to The Daily Mail, “Knollsy” is Charles Knolls, a 58-year-old West Ham diehard who didn’t think twice about stepping up even though the odds were decidedly not in his favor.

Knolls received a hero’s welcome when West Ham faced off against Leeds in London on Sunday, but that was just the start.

The outlet reports Knolls has been rewarded by the club for his actions, as a West Ham official reached out to him to offer him a ticket to the team’s Europa Conference League Final against Fiorentina in Prague on June 7th.

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Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.