West Ham face an FA probe following a one man pitch invasion during the 2-1 defeat by Chelsea – after a fan entered the field of play during the clash with Chelsea according to Sky sources.
At this stage the game’s ruling body is “seeking observations” after the supporter tried to front up Eden Hazard after the Belgium international gave Chelsea the lead.
The pitch invader has been identified as a 51 year old West Ham fan called Ian Crouch. He has been bailed to appear at Thames Magistrates Court on March 21st. Two further supporters were also arrested – a 51-year-old who accepted a caution for common assault and eighteen year old Jamie Oliva who was charged with attempting to enter the stadium whilst in possession of a flare. Oliva has also been bailed to appear at Thames Magistrates Court later this month.
But both sets of fans were thanked for their “fantastic support” on Monday night by the Met Police on Twitter, where they further reported there had been no other major security issues.
I hope Mr Crouch is pleased with himself! He could just have prevented the club’s maximum gate being raised to 60,000. In his defence though, he did not try to make physical contact with any Chelsea player. Perhaps he only wanted a quiet word.