West Ham to seek legal opinion

West Ham will seek a legal opinion before deciding whether to pursue London Stadium operators for compensation over a UEFA £50,000 fine.

The Hammers were slapped with a 60,000 Euro fine earlier this week after crowd trouble at the West Ham v Rapid Vienna Europa League group game.

That saw Austrian away fans throw a variety of missiles at West Ham fans including a large water cooler bottle posing questions how they got hold of items past security checks.

Operators London Stadium 185 who are owned by E20 Stadium LLP are responsible for security and stewarding at the former Olympic Stadium and the club could argue crowd management is outside of their direct control.

Stadium stewards were slow to react to Rapid Vienna behaviour during the game which resulted in some West Ham throwing back items throw at them.  The Austrian club bought their own stewards and supporter liason officers.

Accusation suggested they handed item back to their own supporters and several Austrian supporter liason officers were reportedly ejected from the ground.

If legal advice suggests West Ham have a case, the Hammers could well pursue financial compensation for all or some of the UEFA fine handed to them.