Flare Up At Stadium
West Ham secured their progress to the next round of the Con Cup with aplomb against fellow group favourites Anderlecht, a comfortable 2-0 win was on the cards courtesy of goals by Benrahma and Bowen before a late penalty gifted to the visitors ensured the traditional anxiety fans have grown accustomed to over the years had a chance to test the nerves. On another day Hammers could have put the game well and truly to bed early doors but David Moyes, mindful of the club's domestic commitments, had to maintain a balancing act and as such managed to get his team to do exactly what it said on the tin, win the game, top the group and find themselves needing only one more point from two games to avoid having to play extra conference cup games.
A less than pleasant aspect of the game was the extraordinary amount of pyrotechnics that were somehow deployed by the away fans, it wasn't just the odd flare being ignited it was more like a mini katyusha rocket assault because so many were sent into the West Ham home fans adjacent to the visitors. The Stewards, most of whom are on minimum wages were powerless in the face of what they were dealing with and the situation was only brought under control when the riot police arrived towards the closing stages of the game.
Now anyone attending games at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium will tell you of the 'finicity' nature of the security searches carried out ahead of games, woe betide you if you happen to have a plastic bottle containing a soft drink with you that actually has a lid on it! You are generally asked tyo remove the top or not be allowed to pass without leaving the bottle or drinking the contents before being allowed to proceed to the game. So how come were SO MANY flares brought in by the away fans?
This is a serious question that needs a proper response from the club and the authorities, Anderlecht will most likely escape any form of 'real' sanction and West Ham will probably get fined because their fans had the temerity to throw back the burning projectiles that had been raining down on them...social media is ablaze with coverage, excuse the pun!
Sooner or later someone will smuggle something more sinister in, their is always that chance, but mitigating the risk is possible ONLY if the away fans, particularly those from abroad, are strenuously searched on entry as opposed to being waved through as they currently are, indeed they are actually escorted to the ground by the Police and then and it beggars belief, actually fast tracked into the ground with little or no heed given to searching anyone!
European nights are special and should be enjoyed thoroughly, but unless someone can get a handle on the types of security breaches seen tonight, including an aggressive pitch invader, then things could turn really ugly or even tragic.- Ed
