Awful scenes at Upton Park. Crowd trouble marred an excellent win for West Ham over Millwall in tonight’s Carling Cup 2nd round tie. A 44-year-old man has been stabbed, but is currently in a stable condition in hospital after crowd violence broke out outside Upton Park.
A 29-year-old who witnessed the incidents unfold said: “It’s the last thing you expect to see. There were West Ham fans on one side, Millwall fans on the other, both being separated by the Police. Bottles and bricks were being thrown and hitting people on the front. There were bloodied faces everywhere”.
The Police have described the violence as “pre-planned” and “high-level”. The trouble broke out after Junior Stanislas scored the first goal. Hundreds of West Ham fans ran on the pitch, prompting the Millwall players to leave the pitch immediately. One fan even ran past a Millwall player, who clearly tried to advise him to get off the pitch, and stuck his middle finger up at him.
That particular situation was diffused in time for the match to continue, but outside the violence showed no signs of relenting. Riot Police have gathered at the local tube stations prepared for ongoing violence as people depart the ground.
One very moving scene at the end of the game was a tearful Jack Collison. Collison lost his Father in a motorcycle accident at the weekend, and as he was shepharded off the pitch he burst into tears. The remaining West Ham fans all stood to Collison and gave him an emotional round of applause.
Obviously very disturbing scenes at Upton Park tonight, and it wouldn’t be the first time Millwall fans have been involved in such an incident. It’s not good for the game, and the thugs and hooligans that are involved in the incident should be banned for life and locked up.
