West Ham facing calls for stadium ban following supporter clashes during Chelsea EFL Cup tie
West Ham should be forced to play matches behind closed doors if they and London Stadium chiefs are unable to eradicate crowd violence at the former Olympic venue, say MPs.
The call comes after ugly clashes between Hammers and Chelsea supporters during Wednesday night’s EFL Cup fourth round tie, in which chairs and coins were used as missiles.
Stewards tried in vain to keep rival fans fully segregated towards the end of the match, which West Ham won 2-1. Metropolitan police officers made seven arrests on the night.
Read more: Spurs and West Ham stadium gambles could hurt them
The incidents have raised further questions about safety at the stadium, despite the home club and police putting special plans in place for a London derby considered high-risk.
Football Association chiefs have launched an investigation, while both taxpayers and the club face a financial hit as the scenes put off potential sponsors of the stadium, industry experts have warned.
“If there is a repeat of the violence, the next two or three home games for West Ham should be played behind closed doors,” said Mark Field, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster and vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary football group.
“None of these problems were unforeseeable, given the nature of the stadium and difficulties with policing large footballing crowds. 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.
“Within the next 14 days, the board of West Ham United FC should present a detailed plan to the FA and Premier League outlining what they are going to do about security.”
Read more: Revealed: West Ham owners free to cash in on Olympic Stadium
Sports Minister Tracey Crouch welcomed West Ham’s promise to seek life bans for any home fans found guilty of violence. “No-one wants to see a return to the dark days of the late ‘70s and ‘80s,” she added.
The FA and EFL have indicated they intend to look into the clashes, which the EFL said it condemned and called “disturbing and unwelcome”.
Police and West Ham say they are also investigating the alleged distribution of leaflets encouraging fans to sing homophobic chants during Wednesday’s fixture.
Clashes could hit club in pocket
Sponsorship industry experts, meanwhile, have warned that fighting in the stands will further impede the delayed search for a naming rights sponsor for the stadium.
London legacy chiefs the LLDC are still seeking a sponsor months after West Ham began their controversial 99-year tenancy and almost two years after they had hoped to have a commercial partner in place.
Income from a naming rights deal would mostly go to the LLDC and ease the burden on the taxpayer but the Hammers stand to take a cut too.
Tim Crow, chief executive of sports and entertainment marketing agency Synergy, writes that the series of storms surrounding the former Olympic Stadium, including this week’s fighting, had resulted in “not a background that sponsors would want to be associated with”.
West Ham had hoped to prevent any disturbances against Chelsea by banning the sale of alcohol outside the ground before kick-off and restricting ticket sales to known and identifiable supporters only.
The club also collaborated with police on measures to involve them inside the stadium, despite the absence of radio systems typically relied on by emergency services – an issue that had previously seen the Met refuse to operate in the ground.
The Hammers, who beat Tottenham in a tortuous and contentious bidding war to be anchor tenants of the largely-taxpayer funded showpiece of London 2012, saw skirmishes among fans – including between home supporters – afflict matches against Watford and Bournemouth earlier this season.