West Ham fans have turned to violence because ‘they resent the move from Upton Park’
And ex-Flying Squad boss John O’Connor fears dangerous major disturbance unless club addresses root issues
ANGRY West Ham fans have turned to violence because of simmering resentment at the move from Upton Park.
That is the view of the former head of the Flying Squad, who also worked on public order issues with the CID and on criminal investigations in football.
Former Police Commander John O’Connor insists it is not enough for West Ham’s owners to simply pin all the blame for Wednesday’s crowd trouble on supporters.
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And he fears a dangerous major disturbance at the London Stadium unless the root issues are properly addressed.
O’Connor was shocked at how rival West Ham and Chelsea fans were able to get so close to each other at the end of Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie.
He said: “Segregation is the key element of all policing strategy and it’s crackers that the rival fans were in such close proximity as they were leaving the stadium.
“If you don’t keep the fans apart it’s obvious you are going to have trouble. If they are allowed to goad each other like they were doing on Wednesday, it’s going to end in violence.
“Thankfully it doesn’t appear that anyone was seriously hurt but it could be quite dangerous if a major disturbance takes place.”
O’Connor feels that security has been an issue at West Ham’s new home from day one and says: “They opened for business before all the necessary planning, equipment and training were in place.
“The stadium wasn’t finished for the start of the season. Some seats weren’t in place and there were stewarding issues which still appear to be a problem.
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“Policing inside the stadium has been more or less left to the stewards and they can’t communicate directly with the Police due to difficulties over who pays the cost of the equipment.
“There has been fighting at almost every home game since West Ham moved there. They’ve even been fighting among themselves.
“It’s almost a protest by the fans. They resent the fact they have left Upton Park but they are not going to boycott their team and that hostility is manifesting itself in the way some of the extreme fans are conducting themselves.”
West Ham have already handed stadium bans to 20 fans this season following disturbances during last month’s home defeat by Watford.
And they have promised to exclude anyone who they can prove was involved in Wednesday’s trouble.
But O’Connor says: “It’s all very well for the club to come straight out and say ‘it’s all the fans’ fault, we’re going to ban them for life’ every time there is trouble.
“But it’s clear that just banning people isn’t working. The club and the stadium owners have to face up to their responsibilities for the problems with planning and security and sort them out.”
O’Connor’s concerns were shared another former public order Police commander who was security manager for the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympics.
Ian Whitfield said: “There are difficulties because the stadium was designed for the Olympic Games and it remains to be seen whether it is going to be suitable for football in the long-term.
“There has clearly been a failure or deficiency in planning and preparation but I have every faith that the club will sit down with the Police and revisit their plans for these fixtures.”