Let us steward our own stadium, say West Ham
Club want control after co-owner hit by coin Captain Noble says fury of fans likely to continue
West Ham United will demand to take over stewarding at the London Stadium after co-owner David Sullivan was struck in the face with a coin during the violent and unprecedented protest that took place in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by Burnley.
It is understood that the club’s owners have lost faith in the ability of the stadium operators to safely manage the remaining home games after four supporters invaded the pitch and hundreds more hurled abuse towards the directors’ box.
Under the terms of West Ham’s rental deal, the costs of policing and stewarding are covered by the operators, London Stadium 185, and paid for by the taxpayer.
But the club now wish to take matters into their own hands after the owners were targeted in ugly scenes which David Moyes, the West Ham manager, described as unlike anything he had ever seen in his career. During the protest, a coin struck Sullivan on his glasses, while David Gold, his fellow coowner, broke down in tears after he had left his seat.
Despite the abuse, they will continue to attend home matches.
According to the rental agreement, which allows West Ham to use the stadium for £2.5 million per year, any strengthening of police and stewarding presence would be paid for by the public purse.
However, West Ham may offer to cover those costs, and it is understood that senior club figures believe the money currently spent on stewarding and policing could be used more effectively.
Sullivan said on Saturday night that he felt “very badly let down” by the stadium operators, and there is particular concern over the ease with which fans were allowed to run on to the pitch, where one was thrown to the floor by Mark Noble, the West Ham captain. Karren Brady, club vice-chairman, will accompany another board member and the club’s head of security at a meeting today with stadium stakeholders.
If West Ham were to take over safety operations, it would raise questions over who manages other major events, such as athletics, in the London Stadium. A change to the contract may also result in the club having to pay compensation costs.
Meanwhile, Noble said he could not see a way in which the anger from the fans towards the club’s owners, much of which centres around the move from Upton Park to the London Stadium, would dissipate. “This is our stadium now,” Noble said. “There is nothing we can do about it. It seems to me that there is so much anger out there that it is not going to go away.
“It has been bubbling over for a long time and the only way that it has ever really gone quiet is if we won games. And West Ham is a side that is not going to win every game. We are going to lose games. But when we lose games, it is pretty much the end of the world.”
Noble feared there would be a mass pitch invasion, and said he was thankful that his wife and children had not attended the game.
Asked how the side could now prepare for the next home game, against Southampton on March 31, Noble said: “I don’t know. If we go 1-0 down at home again, what will happen? I can’t imagine. They showed everyone how they feel. Hopefully they will now rally together and get behind us.”
Defender James Collins, who was also involved in scuffles with invading fans, said the team were affected by the confrontation with Noble and the events in the stands as they fell to their third consecutive defeat.
“Seeing my friend, captain and a boy who loves this club as much as me, and who has been here since he was a kid, having to do that with a fan on the pitch is going to affect anyone,” Collins said. “We were probably a bit scared, a bit nervous if you like.”
Sir Trevor Brooking, the former West Ham player who was watching from the directors’ box, said the “aggressive” atmosphere could result in relegation.
“That atmosphere must never come back in the last five games otherwise the players won’t be able to deliver,” he said.