The Pitch Invasions at Upton Park

When Junior Stanislas scored the penalty that put West Ham ahead against Millwall at Upton Park on August 25, 2009, home supporters invaded the pitch. It was not the first intrusion of the evening. Referee Paul Taylor briefly suspended play and took the players off; officials spent about six minutes clearing roughly 50 people from the playing surface while police redeployed inside the stadium.

A larger invasion had followed Stanislas’s late equaliser. After West Ham completed their 3–1 extra-time victory, hundreds of supporters came onto the pitch. The clubs’ first meeting since April 2005 ended with police and stewards repeatedly trying to remove spectators from the field.

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola said he was completely shocked. “I knew it was a game that meant a lot for the two sets of supporters but I didn’t imagine it like this.” Millwall manager Kenny Jackett said he had not feared for his own safety and that no Millwall fans had entered the pitch. His striker Neil Harris described a different concern: “It was extremely hostile and volatile. All my concern was for my team-mates.”

Outside the ground, fighting had begun almost two hours before kick-off and continued into the night. Police said hundreds of fans were involved and that missiles had been thrown at officers, though none were injured. A kebab-shop owner in nearby Green Street closed his business for two hours. “Bottles and bricks were being thrown from the back and some were hitting West Ham fans at the front,” he said. “There were loads of people with bloodied faces.”

A Millwall supporter was stabbed in the chest in Priory Road. Police said his injuries were not life-threatening; he was later discharged from hospital. After the match, Millwall supporters were held inside for 20 minutes. Roads around the stadium were closed, and about 200 riot police and at least 20 mounted officers patrolled near the Underground station. The Telegraph reported glass, rubbish and beer cans scattered across Green Street.

The Football Association promised an investigation, and West Ham pledged lifetime bans for anyone found responsible for the disturbances. But the FA initially held back from assigning responsibility to either club. “We have to understand exactly what measures were put in place last night,” its communications director, Adrian Bevington, said the following morning.

The disciplinary process ultimately distinguished between the clubs and between the allegations. Millwall were cleared of all three charges they faced. Their chief executive, Andy Ambler, said the club had always maintained its innocence and condemned misconduct in football grounds. West Ham’s Carlton Cole and Millwall’s Jason Price both said they had suffered racist abuse, but the charges that the clubs had failed to prevent racist behaviour were unproven. West Ham were also cleared of the charge concerning objects thrown onto the pitch.

On January 15, 2010, the FA fined West Ham £115,000. An independent panel found that the club had failed to ensure its supporters refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour and from entering the field of play.