West Ham’s start to life at its new home has been an utter disaster — on and off the pitch. There have been issues with sight lines and the distance of fans from the pitch and West Ham sit 15th in the table, just three points clear of relegation.
All of that tension combined with a heated London Derby boiled over earlier this week as Chelsea and West Ham fans violently clashed during the Hammers 2-1 victory.
In the aftermath of the chair tossing, coin throwing, and utter chaos at one end of the pitch, West Ham are looking at stadium bans for about 200 people as they announced their intentions to control the violence that happened at London Stadium.
More than 200 individuals will be banned from @LondonStadium following their involvement in incidents of disorder yesterday evening pic.twitter.com/UIQWaH378V
— London Stadium (@LondonStadium) October 27, 2016
The release was blunt in the fact that many of the 200 have already been identified and will be notified of their bans in the coming days and weeks.
“West Ham United and London Stadium are finalising the identification of 200 individuals who will receive stadium bans having been involved in incidents of disorder during West Ham’s EFL cup victory over Chelsea,” a joint statement read.
“Rapid progress has been made in the investigation with extensive CCTV footage being shared with West Ham United, London Stadium partners, the Metropolitan Police and Chelsea Football Club.
“Banning notifications will be issued for offences ranging from the use of abusive and offensive language to missile throwing. In line with our zero tolerance policy, all those involved will receive a seasonal or lifetime ban depending on the severity of the offence.”
The latest incident has also drawn the attention of local politicians, with MP of West Ham Mark Field going as far as to say if things don’t improve, the Hammers should be playing games behind closed doors.
“None of these problems were unforeseeable given the nature of the stadium and difficulties with policing large footballing crowds,” the Tory said. “There have been some clear failings and they now need to move with urgency to deliver a plan about segregation and broader public order issues.
“If there is a repeat of the violence, the next two or three home games for West Ham should be played behind closed doors.”
Reports also state that alleged homophobic flyers were distributed before the match, with lyrics to a song directed in the way of Chelsea legend John Terry.
As one can see, the problems are numerous for West Ham in its first season in its new home and they have plenty to get a handle on quickly.
[ESPN]
