Four West Ham fans assaulted by Eintracht Frankfurt ultras in unprovoked ATTACK, one in hospital

Four West Ham fans have been targeted by Eintracht Frankfurt ultras in unprovoked attacks.

One, a 34-year-old man from Chelmsford, Essex, was taken to hospital with a suspected broken nose and cracked teeth. Another supporter suffered a gashed lip in the ambush at the Fox and Hounds pub in the centre of the German city.

Two more were set upon close to the Rhine’s main tributary after their attackers heard them speaking English. A group of Croatian students were also attacked in the city’s Alt-Sachsenhausen district for simply ‘being foreign’, police told MailOnline.

One, a 34-year-old man from Chelmsford, Essex, was taken to hospital with a suspected broken nose and cracked teeth after the ambush at the Fox and Hounds pub (pictured above)

Six arrests were made for the attack on the two West Ham fans and the Croatians, which were carried out by the same gang. 

But the attackers behind the incident at the Fox and Hounds Pub remain at large, police said.

Manager Anthony Thornley told MailOnline the attackers burst into the bar and assaulted West Ham supporters. ‘My staff are okay but the fans were picked on out of the blue. The guys came into the bar and attacked people.’

A West Ham fan from Somerset who asked not to be named and witnessed the attack early today said two vans of Frankfurt vans pulled up outside the Fox and Hounds.

‘They were wearing masks and balaclavas to cover their faces. They came in and started throwing bottles and glasses around behind the bar and got away, but a couple of guys got attacked and were bleeding badly.

‘They were wearing Eintracht Frankfurt colours and were ultras. It just happened totally out of the blue. Everyone was calm in the bar as there were so few of us around on a Tuesday night when they attacked us.’

Police confirmed the fans were wearing Frankfurt colours and that they were working to hunt them down. The victim from Chelmsford was being treated at the Markus Hospital in Frankfurt.

There were clashes between the fans after the Europa League semi-final first leg in London

The Hammers face Bundesliga side Frankfurt in the second leg in Germany on Thursday night

Police initially said they expected 1500 ticketless West Ham fans to be in Frankfurt for Thursday’s match. But this estimate has now been revised to 3000 and police have been tipped off to expect up to 10,000 ticketless fans to make the journey.

West Ham and Frankfurt fans clashed in Spain last month when both teams were playing separate matches 24 hours apart in Seville. 

Police are on high alert and declared officers will be on every street corner from Thursday in anticipation of any trouble.

But despite the attacks on innocent West Ham fans, some of their number did not endear themselves to locals on Wednesday night when they broke into an anti-German song.

Scores of West Ham fans sang ‘Ten German Bombers’ as they crammed into O’Reilly’s bar opposite Frankfurt’s main railway station. The song makes reference to German bombers and defensive action by the RAF during the second World War.

A line of vehicles carrying armed and riot police pulled up opposite the bar and took up position to monitor them. 

Its singing been castigated by the FA and UEFA, who declared fans singing the song would face bans during last year’s European Championships.