Tuesday’s 2nd round Carling Cup clash between West Ham and Millwall provided the East London rivals with a rare opportunity to inflict punishment upon each other. Or perhaps more accurately, for an all-too prominent minority segment of either club’s supporters to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. From the Telegraph’s Chris Irvine :
The “planned” scuffles, which involved more than 100 fans, appeared to have been caused by fans without tickets to the game, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said.
Reports suggested that some of the fans had been throwing missiles and bricks at one another and the violence between the two sets of fans was described as “serious” by BBC News.
It is thought some fans were ambushed by rival supporters outside the nearby Upton Park underground station via side roads. Officers have made at least two arrests, one for disorder and the second for breach of a banning order.
Police said the stabbing of a man, aged 44, in Priory Road close to the stadium, is connected to the fighting.