West Ham & Millwall charged by FA - whiteee's Blog

whiteee's Blog

West Ham & Millwall charged by FA

Posted on September 28, 2009 at 02:32 AM.

(0)

West Ham and Millwall have been hit with several Football Association charges after the crowd trouble which marred their Carling Cup match.

They are expected to contest the accusations of failing to control their fans at the match on 25 August.

Both clubs are alleged to have taken insufficient action to stop missile throwing and violent, threatening and racist behaviour at Upton Park.

The Hammers face four charges, while Millwall must answer three.

A Millwall supporter was stabbed as fans clashed outside the east London ground and pitch invasions by West Ham fans followed each of their side's goals in the 3-1 extra-time win.

West Ham's Carlton Cole and Millwall's Jason Price also alleged they were racially abused by supporters.

A total of 200 seats and a toilet block in the visiting supporters' section of the ground are understood to have been damaged.

An FA statement alleges the clubs did not ensure their supporters conducted themselves in an orderly fashion "in and around the ground".

Both West Ham and Millwall face charges of failing to ensure their fans refrained from:

- Violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour

- Racist behaviour

- Throwing missiles, harmful or dangerous objects onto the pitch

West Ham are also charged with failing to ensure their supporters did not enter the field of play.

The FA has liaised with the Metropolitan Police and received reports from both clubs, who have 14 days to respond to the charges.

Fans identified as troublemakers will face lifetime bans, the FA has said.

Details of possible sanctions if the clubs are found guilty have not been revealed, although it appears heavy fines are an option, with West Ham facing the biggest punishment.

Previous records of dealing with crowd behaviour will also be taken into account, while footage from 47 closed circuit television cameras inside Upton Park is being examined as police inquiries continue.

West Ham, who were knocked out of the competition by Bolton Wanderers after extra-time last Tuesday, have received information from fans after photos from the night were published on their website and in a match programme.

The club have already issued 10 lifetime banning orders, including a number to supporters who identified themselves as pitch invaders.

Both teams have held reputations in the past for attracting a hooligan following, and Millwall have particularly sought to change the club's image which has been blighted by violence.

The club complained before the match when their ticket allocation was halved to 1,500 following a police request.

Hundreds of supporters were thought to have turned up for the game without tickets.

It was the first time the east London rivals had played each other since April 2005.

Eyewitness reports suggested opposing fans threw bottles and bricks at each other and started small fires as police moved in to try and quell the disturbances outside the ground.

Inside the stadium, police and stewards battled to remove fans from the pitch throughout the match.

West Ham are likely to tell the FA they complied with requests made by the police-led safety advisory group, which met twice before the match, and point to the fact there were no direct clashes between the opposing supporters inside the ground.

At the time Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola said he was "shocked" by the crowd trouble, adding he had not seen anything like it in seven years as a player in England.

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe labelled the incidents " a disgrace to football" while former West Ham manager Harry Redknapp said the sides should not be allowed to meet again.