West Ham surprised by ban on fans for Europa League away tie against Rapid Vienna

West Ham is in a commanding position in its group with two matches left. It will secure its place in the last 16 if it earns a point in Vienna.

Smoke bombs were thrown on the pitch by West Ham supporters during the 2-2 draw in Genk.

West Ham United said it was "surprised" by UEFA's decision to ban its fans from attending its away game against Rapid Vienna and that it is urgently seeking clarification from European football's governing body.

UEFA banned West Ham fans from travelling to its Europa League game at Rapid Vienna on November 25 following crowd trouble during its match against Genk earlier this month.

West Ham's travelling fans had been charged with "crowd disturbances" and "throwing of objects" after the 2-2 draw against the Belgian club on November 4.

 

"We are surprised to receive these sanctions and disappointed for the fans who have behaved impeccably and supported the team throughout and will now be unable to travel to the next away Europa League fixture," West Ham said in a statement on Monday.

"The club has requested the full written reasons from UEFA regarding these sanctions and have asked them to expedite our request given that further delay could impact supporters once again."

UEFA has fined the Premier League club 30,000 euros ($34,000) and a further penalty of 4,500 euros for the two offences.

West Ham is top of Europa League's Group H with 10 points from four games, four points ahead of Dinamo Zagreb.