West Ham demand to take over stewarding
Chief football writer for the broadsheet Jason Burt writes “West Ham United will demand to take over the stewarding of the London Stadium after co-owner David Sullivan was struck in the face with a coin during the violent and unprecedented protest that took place in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by Burnley.
It is understood that the club’s owners have lost faith in the ability of the stadium operators to safely police West Ham’s remaining home games after four supporters invaded the pitch and hundreds more hurled abuse towards the directors’ box.”
The London Stadium stewarding is the responsibility of operator London Stadium 185, a subsidiary of French company Vinci who was appointed by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) funded by the GLA with ultimate responsibility with the London Mayor. Last month stewarding company OCS were stripped of their security contract leaving four stewarding companies including G4S and Wise Security Services.
Claret and Hugh understand that over 1,000 stewards are on duty for each Premier League match at the London Stadium but less than 70 of these are former Boleyn Ground stewards.