Letter from West Ham

A Reply From West Ham United

Hammers United have received a reply from West Ham regarding away fans in the home sections.

Dear Lee,

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you while I investigated your enquiry.

The safety and welfare of all supporters attending matches at London Stadium is of paramount importance to the Club and London Stadium.

By purchasing a ticket and entering London Stadium, supporters of the home and visiting clubs are committing to adhere to all of the points set out in the London Stadium Ground Regulations. Any visiting supporters found to be in the home sections of the Stadium will be relocated to the visitors section, wherever possible, or ejected from the stadium for their own safety. This eventuality is covered in Point 18 of the Ground Regulations as:

18 Any individual who has entered any part of London Stadium designated for the use of any group of supporters to which he does not belong may be ejected from the Ground either for the purposes of his own safety or for any other reason.

The Safety and Security team will take the necessary steps to resolve any incidents as soon as the situation arises and whenever it is reported to us by staff or supporters. All supporters are encouraged to use our dedicated SMS reporting service on matchday to report any incidents discreetly and in confidence on 07860 404 069. All text messages are received directly to the Control Room in order for our staff to monitor the situation and act accordingly at the time of it occurring.

Please be assured that the Club and the London Stadium Safety and Security team are fully aware of the process to deal with such situations and will take the appropriate action on matchday to ensure the safety of all supporters.

Kind regards,

Jake

Having received a reply from West Ham Re; Away supporters with very little content, we decided to write to them again.

Dear Jake,

Thank you for your belated reply which I read with interest.

Our members are of course familiar with the terms and conditions of ticket purchase and the London Stadium Ground Regulations.

The challenge that is presenting itself with increasing regularity is the wholly unacceptable level of inaction being demonstrated by the safety and security teams, who are of course supposed to be working on behalf of the club and its supporters when issues of away fans in the home end are presented, creating what we will refer to moving forward as an identified risk.

Given that the stadium has an advanced cctv monitoring system in place, as well as stewards on stairwells and at access points throughout the stadium, we are flabbergasted that this issue persists.

That you have highlighted the Club and the London Stadium Safety and Security team are fully aware of the process, I’m afraid offers very little assurance or comfort at all as we approach our next home fixture against Manchester United, a fixture you will be well aware has had more than its fair share of trouble over the years.

On behalf of our members, we would ask for the following steps to be taken: –

  • A review to be undertaken of the current processes to conclude if they remain fit for purpose given their current failings.
  • An additional training session addressing the levels of understanding of the existing processes with those persons and the entities they represent prior to the home fixture against Manchester United, with all parties signing an undertaking that they have understood them.
  • Collateral is distributed to visiting clubs’ supporters groups advising of the processes in place, the personal risks to welfare and the potential for being ejected for attempting to sit in the home ends.

Our members believe that the Club and the London Stadium Safety and Security team have a moral obligation to ensure West Ham fans can enjoy their home game experience unabated, ensuring that circumstances that are manageable and within their control are dealt with accordingly.

We also remind you of the legal obligation of both the Club and its agents regarding the safety of both West Ham and any offending away supporters’ safety, which we urge is given the appropriate level of consideration and attention to provide some substance to your assurances.

Yours
Lee Rogers