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West Ham United will hold showdown talks with the landlords of the London Stadium as the FA prepare to investigate fighting among fans during the match against Watford on Saturday. Sportsmail understands English football’s governing body will contact West Ham on Monday morning about the clashes. Eye-witness accounts from the stands claim that ‘punches were thrown between fans’ and ‘stewards had no control of the situation.’
Supporters in the London Stadium during West Ham’s game against Watford
West Ham will review their stewarding procedure following crowd disturbance on Saturday
West Ham fan Barry Cox, 36, said: ‘The organisation is shocking. The segregation between the rival fans was one aisle with steps and a dozen stewards.
‘There were people climbing over barriers, throwing punches and stewards said they couldn’t physically get involved. A safety group eventually came running in.
‘When we left the ground, we saw elderly Watford fans running away.
If that was Tottenham or Chelsea, people would have got seriously hurt.’
Watford fan Nick Gibb said: ‘The police turned up about 15 minutes after the disturbances in the second half. There was a big ironic cheer when they came in.
A fan is given instructions by a steward during the game at the London Stadium
‘My son is 16 and I needed to keep him safe. There were stewards but mostly young, slightly-built people. They couldn’t stop big football fans. We were just lucky more West Ham fans didn’t get involved.’
The situation became all the more farcical as it emerged yesterday that West Ham have no control over match-day security and not a single police officer is placed within the London Stadium. West Ham issued a statement on Saturday night condemning supporters and threatening life bans but behind the scenes, tensions are mounting between the club and the stadium owners and operators.
There is also growing tension between the club’s owners and fanbase. Dave Sullivan Jnr, the son of co-owner David Sullivan, tweeted yesterday that ‘one board member was even spat on by fans’ at Saturday’s game. The stadium is owned by E20 partnership, set up between the London Legacy Development Corporation and London Newham Council. E20 employ the stadium operators, London Stadium 185 (LS185), to manage the security of the ground on matchday.
West Ham will urge E20 to force the security group, LS185, to introduce the presence of police inside the stadium. LS185 admitted to Sportsmail that the ‘buffer zone’ between rival fans must be enhanced but defended their decision not to have police within the stadium, stating that ‘in-fighting amongst West Ham United supporters was not anticipated.’
Many Hammers supporters left the stadium early as their side slipped to defeat
Premier League clubs are not obliged to have a police presence. Fans have accused stewards of adopting a draconian attitude with regards to standing during games and said that stewards are filming supporters.
West Ham privately hope that Saturday’s events will prove to be a major turning point and that the security company will now adapt their methods. The club’s decision makers, Karren Brady, David Sullivan and David Gold have already sent out letters calling for unity among supporters and positive behaviour. The club have also issued ten life bans to supporters in the opening weeks of the season after previous trouble against Bournemouth in the Premier League and Astra in the Europa League.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic says he did not see the incidents in question
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Michail Antonio has scored a league-high 10 headed goals since the start of last season. LS185 say that a further ten supporters were ejected from the stadium on Saturday and three were handed to the police. No fan was arrested.
LS185 insist that stewards are expressly told not to film supporters and they intend to enhance the buffer zone and segregation between rival fans. A statement by the stadium operators LS185 read: ‘London Stadium have identified a number of supporters involved in incidents of disorder during Saturday’s Premier League match between West Ham United and Watford.
‘In line with our safety and security policies, these supporters will be banned from all stadium events. In addition, we will continue to review CCTV footage and take retrospective action where necessary.
Karren Brady, David Sullivan and David Gold have already sent out letters calling for unity
‘We will continue to work closely with West Ham United to identify and take action against the small number of supporters found to be responsible for these incidents.’
The fighting between West Ham’s own supporters is understood to centre around the refusal of some fans to sit down in areas where young families are sat, although the stewards have again been accused of an over-zealous approach. Richard Oses, editor of the Bubbles Fanzine, said: ‘We hoped the club would have control of the matchday experience.
‘Stewards are being heavy-handed, sprinting up stairs and threatening ejections to people who stand up even when there’s a goalscoring chance. They need to be more empathetic. ‘We know its the stadium and council rather than the club.
I would ask them to negotiate with parties and talk to staff from Upton Park who knew the fans better.’
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