Riot ‘a disgrace to football’
By Ian Dunt
Last night’s clashes between West Ham and Millwall fans were “a disgrace to football”, the sports minister has said.
“We have made great progress in tackling hooliganism in this country and will not tolerate a return to the dark days of the 80s,” Gerry Sutcliffe said.
Investigations are already underway concerning the incident, and commentators are concerned the event could have a negative effect on Britain’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
“I completely back the FA’s call for any person identified as involved to be banned for life,” Mr Sutcliffe said.
“The scenes last night were a disgrace to football.”
The running battles began around 18:00 BST last night, in what are thought to be planned confrontations.
Around 200 police in riot gear and several on horses struggled to keep fans apart, during violent scenes which lasted for around five hours.
West Ham, which won the game 3-1, put out a statement condemning the “deplorable” violence.
