Toxic atmosphere returns to London Stadium

The omens were there from the very start last night at the London Stadium, the Claret and Hugh crowd-funded flag was missing and they couldn’t get the massive TV screens working in the stadium so it was impossible to know how many minutes were left to play throughout the game. Although West Ham fans sang loudly and proudly at kick-off, their voices were quickly extinguished after Brighton’s first goal on 10 minutes.

As the second killer goal went in just before halftime West Ham fans turned on West Ham fans inside the stadium.  I  personally witnessed a couple of incidents in my block 113 in the West stand of arguing, pushing and shoving and at halftime police rushed into the back of block 114 for another incident where one West Ham fan was arrested and hauled off.

As the third goal went in on 75 minutes there was further trouble at Club London next to the director’s box as some kind of altercation broke out in the corporate hospitality area. By then embarrassed by a 3-0 defeat at home by Brighton the London Stadium largely emptied and West Ham fans made their long way home in disbelief what they had just witnessed on the pitch. It is on nights like last night that the London Stadium doesn’t feel like our new home.