Premier League side West Ham's clash with Burnley "descended into chaos" as hundreds of supporters "turned on the club’s co-owners, David Gold and David Sullivan, and a pitch invader was thrown to the floor by captain Mark Noble," according to Sam Dean of the London TELEGRAPH. The club said on Saturday that it "launched an investigation into the events in the second half, in which four supporters broke on to the pitch and hundreds stampeded into the area in front of the directors’ box." West Ham defender James Collins and Burnley striker Ashley Barnes "clashed with fans who had invaded the pitch, while police said they had received two allegations of assault." Gold and Sullivan "left their seats with five minutes of the game remaining," having spent around 10 minutes listening to fans "furiously singing" that they had "destroyed" the club. Some supporters "were throwing missiles and others performed throat-slitting gestures" toward the owners, while a middle-aged female steward "was knocked off her feet in the melee." West Ham on Saturday called an "emergency meeting" with all London Stadium stakeholders, while the FA said that it "strongly condemned" the disturbances (TELEGRAPH, 3/11).
NOT HELPING: In London, Jacob Steinberg reported West Ham's players "fear the toxic atmosphere at the London Stadium will harm their battle against relegation." Although Manager David Moyes called for his team to "stick together following an afternoon of chaos" that left it three points above the bottom three, "there is concern within West Ham’s dressing room" that the team's fight to stay in the Premier League "will be derailed" now that the fanbase "appears to have lost all faith in the board." The east London club is "braced for a heavy fine" from the FA after the London Stadium’s security failings "were exposed by four pitch invasions." The situation is "far from ideal, bearing in mind the damage that West Ham’s third consecutive defeat has done" to its chances of staying in the EPL. Several players were "visibly angry with the delays caused by supporters breaking on to the field of play," with Noble "hurling the first pitch invader to the ground" and Collins becoming involved in a "heated exchange with another" (GUARDIAN, 3/11).
NEVER AGAIN: The PA reported the EPL issued a statement "condemning the scenes." The statement said, "It is essential that everybody who plays or attends a Premier League football match can do so safely. There is no place at any level of the game for what happened at the London Stadium today. While the official investigation of the incidents will be carried out by the Football Association, we will be asking our own questions of West Ham United about what happened this afternoon, especially to ensure similar events never reoccur" (PA, 3/10).
'VERY TOXIC': The PA also reported former West Ham midfielder Frank Lampard described the atmosphere at the London Stadium as "toxic." Lampard, who left West Ham in '01 to join Chelsea, "hit out at the way the supporters vented their frustrations." He said, "It was very toxic. It was a horrible feeling in the second half, in particular. Fans coming on to the pitch, I understand Mark Noble's position. He is Mr. West Ham and doesn't do this for the fun of it. He cares and that is why he reacted in that way. This wasn't right. This was very aggressive today" (PA, 3/11). The BBC reported West Ham fans could get their club relegated if the "aggressive" climate continues, ex-Hammers forward Trevor Brooking said. He added, "Just don't come to the games at the moment until you try to allow the players to get the points to stay up. That atmosphere must never come back." Brooking said that the first goal scored by Barnes "triggered problems" and "there was a quite sizeable group then below the directors' box that came to chant in a really aggressive manner." Burnley substitutes "allowed some children caught up in the protests to sit on the bench" toward the end of the match. Brooking believes the level of stewarding, which is provided externally by the London Stadium operators, was not "sufficient" (BBC, 3/11).
