West Ham release statement on FA charge

West Ham have responded to being charged by the FA by releasing a statement on the club’s official website.

And it suggests the club will raise a defence against the invasion charge by clearly stating the Stadium operators are responsible for crowd control not the club.

The statement says: “West Ham United can confirm that the FA have charged the Club in connection with the incidents during our match against Burnley on 10 March.

 We are co-operating fully with their inquiry and will be discussing the issues raised with our landlord E20 and Stadium operators LS185, who are responsible for match day safety and security.

The Club took immediate action after the match and banned for life several individuals who were involved in the disruption. The swift and effective action taken has been acknowledged in the FA report.”

At the London Stadium Safety Advisory Group in April chaired by Newham Council West Ham asked for it to be“noted that there is an independent investigation jointly commissioned by West Ham United and E20 is currently underway following the events at the Burnley match.

They wanted to stress that they do not recognise the facts and figures mentioned in the media, including the figures quoted for the number of Banning Orders issued and the number of pitch incursions that occurred.

They feel that the unverified information being discussed in the media is fuelling ill feeling with the fans and worry that figures discussed in SAG meetings are being shared outside of the group”

In the official published SAG minutes, they add that “West Ham added that they were disappointed that information from the minutes covering the Burnley game was in the public domain before being agreed and approved collectively by the safety advisory board”

The minutes further say: “Life bans were issued for pitch runners and those throwing missiles, 26 life bans issued in total” and that “CCTV was down for a very short time during the Burnley game”