Reports that West Ham fans were fighting amongst themselves at the London Stadium are completely false.
Following yesterday’s 5-2 Premier League defeat to Arsenal, some sections of the tabloid media posted phone footage of what appeared to be scuffles in the home sections of the stadium.
The media were quick to jump on such stories and claim it was West Ham fans fighting amongst themselves as frustration grew during the Gunners’ blitz on Ĺukasz FabiaĹski’s goal.
Unfortunately, the tabloids have got it wrong again. Their tendency to report unfavourably on Hammers fans has once again led them astray. Whilst there were scuffles inside the ground, they occurred because Arsenal fans had infiltrated the West Ham sections and seemed to make little effort to hide it.
One infamous tabloid newspaperâwhom I wonât name or publiciseâtitled an article âHuge fight breaks out amongst West Ham fansâ.
The truth of the matter is that I have received five separate reports of Arsenal fans sitting amongst West Ham supporters, two of whom were wearing Arsenal shirts, undisguised beneath their jackets.
Somebody I have been sitting alongside for years told me:
âWe suspected he was an Arsenal fan when he remained seated for the Emerson goal and didnât celebrate. Then he started laughing when we conceded a fifth, and it all kicked off.â
Reports of a huge brawl are false
Breakdown in London Stadium security
C&H’s Sean Whetstone, seated on the opposite side of the ground, said:
âThere were so many Arsenal fans in the home end. I counted six just in my row and the rows in front and behind. They all denied being Arsenal fans, of course, but used their phones to video Arsenal players and the penalty. They also didnât celebrate West Ham goals and recorded Arsenal fans celebrating in the away end. One guy, wearing an Arsenal shirt under his coat, got thrown out. Many others left after being challenged when the game went to 4-0.â
In another report, one Arsenal fan was said to have goaded Hammers supporters, leading to a scuffle when stewards failed to deal with the situation quickly enough.
Aside from West Ham fans being unfairly besmirched once again, there is surely a health and safety issue at the London Stadium. How opposition fans, proudly wearing their clubâs colours, are allowed entry into the wrong part of the stadium speaks volumes about the lack of competent security at the ground.
It is undoubtedly a failure of ticketing, stewarding, and organisation, and itâs very convenient that Irons fans get blamed for it.
Last I was at the London Stadium, the game against Spurs last spring, there were plenty of clueless bodies occupying seats. These are just visitors looking for a cheap EPL selfie. Then there are the fans who get tickets to see their favourite team play. Just happens to be against WHU. While there is no going back, Boleyn was a fortress.
Until the team improves beyond the point that only diehards can be bothered with them, the stadium will be half filled with the one-timers and opponent fans.
Just goes to show what a ****ing mess the club is from top to bottom. If I had to watch that **** yesterday and was surrounded by away fans I would have told them to **** off it else.
Its a sad world when opposition supporters cant sit with us without fear of being beaten up. There are some utter morons who sit near me who seem to think they are amusing when they call the officials “paedos” and ” f**king c*nts”. I would far rather these idiots were not season ticket holders, particularly as most of the time they are slagging off our own players. Going to a football match shouldnt mean that you suddenly have the right to beat people up just because they support the opposing team and wind you up a bit. Happily most of the people i sit with are decent people who limit their dissatisfaction to verbal disapproval. But theres no real excuse for physical violence. Its actually a bit pathetic to make excuses for these idiots.
Just about to write something similar and pleased to see you have done it already Brian G. Could not agree more. The opposition and officials are our friends. Without them there is no game. Remember this and be kind everybody. Banter is great but nastiness has no place anywhere.
COYI
The right wing media in this country have turned journalism into a cesspit of gossip and lies, so I am not surprised that the media blamed us as it gets more attention
Right wing? Oh please! Get real! Truth hurts yes? Especially if you donât agree with it but please, âright wingâ nonsense is so ridiculous!!! Almost sounds like a Labour supporter!! ( so basically an idiot!)
I am 63 and should know better but pizzed myself when 3 gobby Gooners in their teens to early 20s got ****ted by someone clearly older than me when they tried to give it some with 5 – 2 hand signs & calling West Ham Merchant Bankers – they legged it quicker than Usain Bolt at his best
We had two Arsenal fans sitting near to us in the Billy Bonds upper. They kept quiet but filmed various bits on their phones & were obviously away fans. They didnât answer our questions as to their support & disappeared after half time. Does make you wonder what questions are asked at the ticket office đ¤ˇââď¸
We had two Arsenal fans sitting near to us in the Billy Bonds upper. They kept quiet but filmed various bits on their phones & were obviously away fans. They didnât answer our questions as to their support & disappeared after half time. Does make you wonder what questions are asked at the ticket office đ¤ˇââď¸
We had two Arsenal fans sitting near to us in the Billy Bonds upper. They kept quiet but filmed various bits on their phones & were obviously away fans. They didnât answer our questions as to their support & disappeared after half time. Does make you wonder what questions are asked at the ticket office đ¤ˇââď¸
Would never of happened if that pygmy Sullivan hadn’t soled us out by moving to that shi# soulless dome.
Worst thing that ever happened to this club was them porno peddlers and Brady running our club sorry ruining our club.
Pretty obvious what’s going on… Season ticket holders get an email about a month before each home game…This email gives every season ticket holder the option to buy extra tickets …So it is possible that the seats are actually from our own fan base…
We all knew this was going to happen…There are season ticket holders who don’t go hardly at all..They have no affiliation with the club and probably sell their seats back to the club on a regular basis.
Let’s be honest if you do this and have a few Arsenal mates who will pay a lot more, then what would you do?
I am West Ham, I was there. Obviously these 2 guys were Arsenal and while itâs unwise to make your allegiance known, itâs illegal to attack them, as the West Ham fans did.So donât blame the stewards, the lawbreakers were our own. The Gooners robustly defended themselves to be fair, and we are fortunate that no one was seriously injured.
Has to be serious investigation into this. The simple way is to find out whose seats these Arsenal bods were sitting in belong to, ain’t rocket science.
There’s definitely a health and safety issue at the stadium. It’s called a hot dog/ burger/pie! And pi55 lager should come with a financial warning
Can’t understand why you won’t name the newspaper, as Mr trump would say you must be reporting fake news, surely if what they are saying isn’t true they should be called out for it. Everybody at the club with the exception of a few must be totally fed up with what is being allowed to happen at our club ,the chairman can still be the chairman in title only and let someone with a football brain make the important decisions, I think we are amongst the worse teams in the league and honestly cannot think of a side that we can beat, needs changing now 4 games on and defeats and we are in big trouble . I’m used to the ups and downs, fan since 1967 . Somebody help.
Arsenal fan sitting next to me.He was trying to hide it but when he started eating a prawn sandwich I sussed him out đ
It was The Sun mate, I just didn’t want to post a link to them.