October 27 – Some supporters said the scenes were reminiscent of the dark days of English hooliganism as crowd trouble marred West Ham’s League Cup fourth-round home win over Chelsea on Wednesday, with police making seven arrests.
Plastic bottles, seats and coins were thrown during the match at West Ham’s London Stadium, formerly the London Olympic stadium, as hundreds of supporters clashed and riot police entered the concourse.
It was the latest outbreak of disorder at West Ham’s new ground that has had security issues virtually from the start. So far following the switch, 23 fans have been banned from the ground.
Images on social media before the game appeared to show a song sheet being distributed with homophobic lyrics aimed at Chelsea defender John Terry and striker Diego Costa.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic commented: “For those kind of things to happen, especially in England, is unacceptable.”
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said: “I don’t really like to see these situations.”
One fan at the game told the BBC it “was an absolute nightmare”, adding: “If they don’t close that stadium someone will get killed there.”
West Ham said in a statement they “unreservedly condemn” fans’ behaviour and will work to identify those supporters involved, while Chelsea said they were “extremely disappointed to see the disturbances.”
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