Former Man Utd star slams own club’s fans over crowd trouble and fumes ‘what if a child was killed?’
ATHLETIC BILBAO star Ander Herrera lambasted a section of his own club’s fans for causing crowd trouble during their Europa League return.
Bilbao made their long-anticipated comeback to Europa after a six-year absence on Thursday and took on Roma at the Olimpico where they drew 1-1.
The Giallorossi opened the scoring on 32 minutes with Artem Dovbyk and the visitors equalised with Aitor Paredes five minutes before full-time.
And it was after Paredes’ goal when some of the travelling fans started to throw flares and causing an unsafe environment in Rome.
Things got so unpleasant that Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde had to walk towards the away end and urge the rowdy supporters to stop.
Ex-Manchester United star Herrera was also very frustrated with the incident.
The midfielder condemned the unruly fans and refused to make any excuses as they could have “killed a child”.
Herrera told Cadena Cope: “We have a strange feeling because we played a good game, a positive point but everything is clouded by what we have all seen.
“I understand that in a moment of heat, you bring out the worst in yourself in the form of an insult, but it doesn’t enter my mind [to] throw a flare that can kill a person.
“It makes you go cold, because it has no explanation.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
“The flares used well, when celebrating La Gabarra, give a beautiful colour but in the hands of a person who throws it at the head, you have to cut it out.
“A person who throws a flare and you know it can hit someone in the head and you can kill them, what if you kill a child? Or any person? It has no explanation.”
Herrera joined United in 2014 from Bilbao and went on to amass a total of 20 goals and 27 assists in 189 appearances.
The 35-year-old went on to win the FA Cup, EFL Cup, Europa League and Community Shield during his five-year stint at Old Trafford.
The ex-Spain international moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2019 before his return to Bilbao on loan in 2022 which led to a permanent switch a year later.