West Ham fan ‘Knollsy’ insists he is no hero after footage showed him preventing AZ Alkmaar ultras attacking sections of the West ham support.
Chris Knoll – a 58-year-old father of four – has been praised for his bravery in stopping Dutch hooligans from reaching the families of the West Ham players.
Chris put himself in harm’s way as a group of hooded AZ fans approached the stand after Pablo Fornals netted a wonderful, last-gasp winner Michail Antonio, Said Benrahma, Flynn Downes and Lucas Paqueta rushed over to the disturbance to find Chris battling to keep fellow supporters safe.
Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has since referred to Knoll as a ‘legend’ But Chris played down his heroics. He said he did what he had to do.
“I’m not a hero. I just did what I had to do. There was another guy who was fending them off. I don’t like bullies and just had to try and stop them,” he told The Daily Mail whilst sporting a swollen left eye.
“I just thought the best form of defence was to attack. You could see they were intent on causing trouble and I did not want them to get to those behind us.”
Chris spent the night in Amsterdam following the match before flying back to London on Friday.
Despite his act of bravery, Chris said he has not been able to get tickets for the final in two weeks time.
He said: “If I can get a ticket and a couple for the two who were with me in Amsterdam, I will be there to cheer on the Hammers.
“I’d love to be at the final. Hopefully it will be trouble free and we can just enjoy and fantastic match.”
Come on West Ham, give this man some tickets !