After the two benches were separated, referee Jose Maria Sanchez ran over and showed McKinlay a red card. However, as he dealt with that incident the chaos spilled over onto the pitch as Michail Antonio attempted to take the ball from Odilon Kossounou. Players from both sides quickly got involved, with Leverkusen captain Jonathan Tah clashing with Antonio. Yellow cards were handed out to both Tah and Antonio for their roles in the fracas, while a member of Xabi Alonso’s coaching staff was also sent off after the referee had calmed things down on the pitch.

The Hammers trailed 2-0 from the first leg at the BayArena but struck early to reduce the arrears, thanks to Antonio, who notched after just 13 minutes. Jeremie Frimpong then scored a late equaliser to keep Leverkusen’s unbeaten record intact and seal a 3-1 win on aggregate. However, Antonio hit out at the referee following the game, telling TNT Sports: “Last week we gave them a bit too much respect, but this week we came out and showed them what we can do. “I felt like I didn’t get a decision all game.

I felt a bit frustrated. We felt like we deserved more. But it’s football, sometimes the decisions don’t go your way. We move on, and build on that and try to get into the Europa League next year.

“We put in a good performance, we had quite a few chances. Obviously they’re a quality team. I’m disappointed with the way we played last week. We gave them too much respect.

It doesn’t feel like you’re playing against 11 men, it feels like you’re playing against 12… 14 including the two linos.” If you curious, you can read our *Privacy Notice. *