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West Ham supporters following England had their flags confiscated in Alicante after Spanish officials mistook the crossed hammers emblem as a Nazi symbol.

Angry scenes erupted at the Estadio Jose Rico Perez on Friday night as stewards and officials took down the white and red flags of St George emblazoned with the crossed hammers crest and West Ham United .

Furious Irons supporters explained to stewards that the sign was their club crest and tried to prevent them being taken down.

But local organisers at Spain’s game with England claimed in their view that the emblem was a Nazi-supporting banner, contravened regulations and was not allowed to be displayed. FA security officials at the game tried to defuse the dispute, explaining the flags had absolutely no Nazi connotations.

Gallery: Spain 2-0 England

But even they were ignored by the Spanish authorities, who took the flags after a stand-off.

It’s traditional for fans following England away to display a flag of St George with the name of their own clubs or towns across the middle.

At the end of the game the fans were told their flags were being destroyed.

READ MORE:England fans urged to join in with La Marseillaise anthem prior to France friendly

An FA security official said: “Spanish officials believed the crossed hammer emblem was a Nazi-style badge. We intervened to try to explain there was nothing wrong with the flags.

“At the end of the match when the fans asked for them to be returned the local authorities refused. There was nothing more we could do.”