Hooligans from "the notorious Inter City Firm" sat down with EPL side West Ham Vice-Chair Karren Brady in recent weeks, and have "since threatened other fans planning on marching against the board," according to Miguel Delaney of the London INDEPENDENT. There is a "toxic atmosphere" around the club right now. There is "no other way to feel," given the online comments of members of a fans group called Real West Ham Fans -- until last week known as the Real West Ham Fans Action Group -- which was founded by '70s Inter City Firm members and which multiple sources have claimed wants a "Lazio Ultras-style relationship with the club." Threats were posted by ICF and Real WHF members "warning other fans not to march against the board." One posted on Facebook, "All your left wing f***s you ain’t passing through our manor. The ICF won’t allow it don’t cross us." It is a situation that people who work in the Football Supporters’ Federation have described as "one of the worst come across," and "wild-west stuff" that raises some "serious questions for the club." Mark Walker, the democratically elected head of West Ham United Independent Supporters' Association -- an FSF-recognized body -- is said by those who know him to feel "distraught," hugely "concerned for his physical safety and will probably never return to a game again." For his part, Real WHF founding member Andrew Swallow "initially responded to a list of questions," insisting it had "all been blown out of proportion" and saying that he would "explain all in an interview at an agreed time." Swallow "did not ring back, and did not respond to repeated phone calls" (INDEPENDENT, 3/8).
