Cologne fans ‘fought with stewards and broke into away section after posing as Arsenal supporters’ at Emirates
COLOGNE fans caused chaos inside the Emirates Stadium as hundreds fought with stewards before their delayed match with Arsenal.
Police officers were deployed and police dogs attempted to diffuse the violence that erupted in the stands.
Ticketless fans from the Bundesliga side reportedly purchased tickets from Arsenal fans outside the ground and posed as home supporters.
One fan said how Koln fans brought Arsenal shirts to ensure they could get into the stadium.
Once they were in they all congregated together, they took off their Arsenal shirt to reveal their Koln jerseys and started chanting in the home end.
Some attempted to leap over barriers to get into the away section with stewards unable to control the fan frenzy.
Cologne were only given a 2,900 ticket allocation but around 20,000 supporters descended into London on Thursday.
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There was a possibility that the match could be called off altogether before the match kicked-off at 21:05.
Authorities were concerned with the amount of away fans swarming the home section of the ground.
It is believed around 3,000 Cologne supporters are in the home section of the Emirates.
A video posted on Twitter has shown how cops have been forced to use their batons outside the ground.
One away fan was seen bleeding from a head wound.
20,000 fans brought London’s Oxford Street to a standstill on Thursday afternoon as they marched through the capital's busiest street.
Police officers had to stop all traffic going down the road as some of the German fans threw bottles and let off flares.
Cologne fans then stormed the Emirates, where pictures and videos showed huge crowds of supporters stuck outside.