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Man stabbed as trouble erupts at West Ham v Millwall Carling Cup game


A man has been stabbed and violent battles have broken out between rival fans in "large-scale" crowd trouble at Upton Park.

Hundreds of fans are involved in the disorder which police said was caused by people without tickets to the West Ham v Millwall Carling Cup second-round game, who had planned to start trouble.

A spokesman for Metropolitan police said more officers were being rushed to the scene outside Upton Park, in east London. "There is large-scale trouble involving hundreds of fans which we are dealing with at the moment," he added.

Police said that the victim of the stabbing was a 44-year-old man who is now in a stable condition in hospital. Officers have made two arrests, one for disorder and the second for breach of a banning order. Police said the stabbing, in Priory Road close to the stadium, is connected to the fighting and the man is being treated by paramedics.

Outside John Whittingham, 35, a caretaker who lives near the ground, said: "There were lots of scuffles and fights before the game. I saw a couple of people with bloody faces. There was lots of shouting and a lot of bottles were thrown. People were throwing bricks but I haven't got a clue where they were finding them. Some people were trying to rip bollards off the pavement. There were also some small fires lighted."

Builder Peter Simpson, 35, from Southend, Essex, said the clashes were between rival football fans. "It was kicking off all over the place and the police didn't seem to be able to stop it," he said. "There were quite a few people injured. It was quite nasty."

Rubbish, shards of glass and beer cans were strewn across Green Street, near to the ground, and bricks could be seen in rubbish bins. About 50 police officers in riot gear congregated outside Upton Park Tube station as they waited for the final whistle. Several hundred fans were seen leaving the match before the game ended.

Inside the ground, pockets of violence also broke out. Some supporters made it on to the pitch. The rival fans taunted one another as news of the fighting outside filtered through, while the game finished 1-1, meaning an extra 30 minutes would be played. When West Ham then took the lead in extra-time, 50 or 60 fans ran on the pitch. The players were forced off the field for a short time. As the final whistle blew, with the West Ham running out 3-1 winners, hundreds of fans invaded the pitch. Police and stewards battled with fans in an attempt to remove them from the field of play.

As thousands of fans flooded from the ground, police closed several roads surrounding Upton Park and ushered them towards the Tube station. Around 200 officers in riot gear, backed up by at least 20 mounted officers, patrolled outside the station.


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A fan is removed from the pitch by police at the game between West Ham and Millwall



Police officers in riot gear monitor fans outside the ground at Upton Park



Riot police try to control hundreds of fans outside a pub






A fan receives treatment after being hit by a bottle

A man receives treatment after clashes with rival supporter





West Ham fans run on to the pitch after their side equalised







An injured steward with his arm in a sling is ushered away by riot police inside the ground

hooligans gloat over stabbing


Hooligans gloated today over the violent clashes between West Ham and Millwall fans.
At least one man was stabbed and 21 others injured in scenes like “a horror film” inside and outside West Ham's Upton Park stadium last night.

Terrified families were caught up in the violence as up to 1,000 police struggled to contain the “pre-planned and organised” attacks.

On Millwall Online this morning, under the chatroom heading “Someone stabbed” one fan writes: “Let's just pray that whoever it is pulls through ok... unless they're a West Ham ****, then let them die.”

West Ham supporters also applauded the violence. One said: “Nights like last night make me want to go back to Upton Park again more regularly… the passion and atmosphere.”

Another Hammers fan told how they ignored court orders barring them from the ground, saying on West Ham Online: “Broke my banning order restrictions… am confident of getting away with it.”

At least 10 people were arrested as rival supporters clashed before, during and after the Carling Cup match.

A 44-year-old man was stabbed in the chest outside the ground before the game. He was in a stable condition today, while two others were taken to hospital with less serious injuries. A second man was seen being treated for a bleeding neck wound and told paramedics “they've shanked me”, according to witnesses.

Other people were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Resident Mansoor Haider, 24, said: “It was carnage. I saw a man being pelted with bricks. Blood was pouring from his head but they didn't stop. They were going at each other like wild animals. It was like a war zone.”

Another said: “It was like a scene for a horror film.” The trouble first flared at around 6pm as Millwall fans emerged from Upton Park Tube station.

They were attacked by West Ham supporters lying in wait. The fighting spread half a mile down Green Street.

Inside the ground, West Ham fans invaded the pitch three times, taunting Millwall players and forcing the referee to suspend play for a while.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said officers were now scanning CCTV footage to identify those behind the clashes. The Football Association said it would work with the police to ensure the culprits were banned for life.

Mayor Boris Johnson posted a message on Twitter today to condemn the violence. Pop star Lily Allen pleaded for the fighting to stop on her Twitter page, saying her brother Alfie's girlfriend, actress Jaime Winstone, was at the game.

Jaime's father, actor Ray Winstone, is a well-known West Ham fan and featured in a poster campaign advertising the club's new home kit.

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Watched some of that on the news, most of those people clearly belong in the Foreign Legion.