Vicious Violence flairs inside and out

Last updated : 26 August 2009 By Plymouth_hammer

Prior to kick-off there were reports on a West Ham fan having been stabbed in the chest on Priory road after a large number of Millwall fans without tickets decided to head to the ground.  Upton Park tube station and the Queens pub were also said to be the scenes of serious and organised disorder.

Inside the ground a number of mindless West Ham fans invaded the pitch after Junior Stanislas’ equaliser just before full time.  Not content with this, many then invaded the pitch for a second time when during extra-time Stanislas tucked home a penalty.  The Hammers went on to score a third and then at the final whistle more ‘fans’ decided to invade the pitch for the third time of the evening.

The disgraceful scenes both outside and inside the ground must surely lead to serious questions being asked of the Metropolitan Police, The Football Association and the Security advisors of both clubs.  Even in the weeks before the game the signs were there.

Millwall fans were not given enough tickets for the game and as a result large numbers of them were always likely to travel to Upton Park.  With pubs having been open all day by the time the game kicked off and the fact it was the first time the two historically bitter rivals have met for four years, the game always had the potential to be troublesome, yet according to reports there were nowhere near enough Police or security staff to control the shear number of people involved.