David Moyes Furious As Pitch Invader Halts West Ham Attack In Europa League Draw With Lyon

A pitch invader cost West Ham a chance to score after interrupting an attack during the first leg of a Europa League quarter-final against Lyon.

"There really are some idiots around, aren't there?"

Those were the words of BT Sport commentator Ian Darke after witnessing a pitch invader halt a West Ham United attack against Lyon.

The incident occurred late on in Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first leg, which ended 1-1 in east London.

West Ham had been playing with 10 men since Aaron Cresswell was sent off just before half-time. But despite their numerical disadvantage, the Hammers were keen to make the most of their home advantage as a sold-out London Stadium roared them forward.

Not all of the fans played their part though. One "idiot" went rogue and ran onto the pitch with less than five minutes to go, forcing German referee Felix Zwayer to stop the game just as West Ham were applying pressure onto the opposition.

West Ham are drawing 1-1 at home, need a goal, on the counter-attack and one of their fans run on the pitch…🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/YhHfIxDIBN

— Theo (@Thogden) April 7, 2022

BT Sport's live coverage of the match cut to West Ham manager David Moyes, who looked furious with the fan's stupid interruption.

This had been the second fan to run onto the pitch during the same game.

Moyes was later quoted by Yahoo as saying: "I was baffled.

"This is a really good football club doing so many good things. But those things tonight didn't help, we were on a counter-attack with an opportunity to score.”

The pitch invader was taken away by three members of security staff, with pictures showing that he was wearing a West Ham shirt.

Unlike some of the pitch invaders the Premier League has witnessed in previous weeks, this individual did not appear to be making a statement or protesting.

A pitch invader is ejected by security during the first leg of West Ham's Europa League quarter-final against Lyon :: IMAGO/PA Images/Adam Davy

He would not be the first pitch invader to step onto the London Stadium turf without having fully thought things through.

In 2018, a Hammers fan, later identified by the Daily Mail as 61-year-old Paul Colborne, brought West Ham's game against Burnley to a halt when he marched towards the center of the pitch where he held a corner flag aloft.

West Ham had been losing 3-0 when Colborne decided to "do something".

A pitch invader at the West Ham v Burnley game with the corner flag on the pitch today 😩😅 pic.twitter.com/7w26bRrnM8

— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) March 10, 2018

He told the Daily Mail: "I have been going to see West Ham home and away for 49 years and have seen more than 2,000 games.

"I hadn't planned anything, but I just felt I had to do something. You have to stand up for what you believe in. People have died and been put against a wall for what they believe in."