West Ham fans were ambushed by gangs or rival ultras from Fiorentina ahead of the Europa Conference League final clash in Prague tonight.
Police have said that at least 16 people have been detained after the violence erupted at around 3pm today.
In a statement on Twitter, the force said Italian fans attacked West Ham supporters in a bar in Rytirska Street with three people injured while a police officer was also assaulted.
According to a translation, the statement said 16 people had been detained while police investigate, with a picture showing several people on the floor of a shop with their hands bound as officers stood over them.
Brawls broke out in the street just hours before the final tonight, with video footage posted online showing Fiorentina fans throwing chairs at West Ham supporters, with smoke bombs and flares also being used.
The celebratory mood in Prague turned sour as Hammers fans drinking in a bar were attacked by a group of Italians clad in black clothing and masks.
As word spread that fans were being assaulted, West Ham fans moved towards the bar – and a group of riot police moved in to prevent the two groups clashing further.
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Alfie Mulligan, 21, from Northampton, is in Prague with his brothers Charlie and Harry and dad Sean.
They were in a bar off the Old Town square when the hooded gang attacked.
Alfie, a student journalist, told Metro.co.uk: ‘We were outside the bar on the corner and all of a sudden about 20 or 30 people came along and started launching objects at us.
‘It was quite a scary experience, we went inside to take shelter and I hid behind a table.
‘They were throwing flares, fireworks and flash bombs at us and a mate of mine got hit with a baton.
‘I was sat on the floor in shock wondering where my dad and my brothers were, it was terrifying.
‘A couple of minutes after it happened paramedics and police arrived but the damage had already been done. There was a lot of smashed glass and damaged chairs, the staff were quite shaken up as well.
‘They were sweeping up the glass for a good ten minutes.
‘I don’t know for sure but it was probably Florentina’s ultras. It was completely unprovoked, we were just sat there having a nice time in the sun and it all kicked off.’
The family are West Ham season ticket holders who have travelled out to Prague to be part of Hammers’ shot at landing their first European trophy in 47 years.
Mobile phone footage of the bar from a café across the road shows hooded men wearing black coats and jeans throwing chairs and the sound of an explosion before they run off.
Alfie added: ‘I’m not going to the ground but I am a bit concerned now about what might happen if we win, because they will know where we are.’
Broken glass and a burnt-out chair could be seen littering the ground outside the Tek’ila Tek’ila bar in Prague on Wednesday.
One West Ham fan, who did not want to be named, said ‘a large group’ of Italian fans attacked the bar.
‘About eight Italians walked past, swinging bands and chains,’ he said.
He added: ‘Five minutes later there was a big group that come down the road and attacked us.’
The man said five West Ham fans were injured.
He said: ‘Three of our mates (were injured), out of all of this lot there were five. Three of them were our mates. They’ve gone to hospital.’
He said that one of his friends was ‘quite badly’ injured with a ‘massive cut’ on his head.
Around 100 West Ham fans attempted to run towards the bar where their fellow fans were said to have been attacked but were kept at bay by around 50 police officers, some armed with automatic rifles and batons.
The ultras attempted to escape the police and ran through a busy paved shopping area.
Some ran through the outside tables of a café where many people were dining, causing crockery, glasses and bottles to smash as tables were overturned.
It comes after similarly-cald hooligan supporters of AZ Alkmaar tried to get at West Ham players’ families in chaotic scenes at the end of the semi-final in Holland.
Riot police have been on standby in the hours ahead of tonight’s kick-off.
Earlier, one fan was detained by police for letting off an orange flair in the square, but later released after a ticking-off.
More than 10,000 West Ham fans were gathering in the fan zone to watch the match on a giant screen.
Supporters of their Italian rival without tickets were led to a separate fan zone.
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