Image Credit: Catherine Ivill / Getty Images
West Ham v Man Utd erupted in chaos yesterday after the Hammers’ fans attacked Manchester United’s team bus, pelting it with bottles and smashing its windows.
With West Ham fans celebrating the club’s final match at the Boleyn Ground, hundreds of fans gathered outside the stadium before the visiting squad arrived, greeting them with unsavoury and violent behaviour as their coach pulled into Upton Park.
The Football Association condemned the actions of West Ham’s fans, releasing the following statement (via The Guardian): “The FA strongly condemns the unsavoury incidents involving both the Manchester United team coach outside West Ham United’s Boleyn Ground and objects thrown from a section of the home support during the game. We will work closely with both clubs and the Metropolitan Police to fully investigate these matters.”
West Ham also released an official statement regarding the actions the club will take to prevent such behaviour taking place in the future, revealing that it would deal out permanent bans to those involved in attacking the Manchester United team bus. The club’s statement reads: “It was an extraordinary night full of extraordinary moments in front of extraordinary fans. 99 percent of whom behaved impeccably and were a credit to the Club. We have already had thousands of tweets and emails from fans to say how proud they were to be a part of such a special evening in West Ham’s history.
“However, we are aware that there were some supporters outside the Boleyn Ground who didn’t act in an appropriate way when the Manchester United team bus was damaged. That was not acceptable and we will work with the police to identify those responsible and ban them for life.”
Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard filmed the ordeal on his phone, though the team didn’t seem too affected by the West Ham fans’ actions:
Lingard filmed the ordeal… pic.twitter.com/JRLCtNXR9A
— Oddschecker (@Oddschecker) May 10, 2016
Man Utd fail to topple West Ham in dismal 3-2 defeat
West Ham celebrate the victory and the club’s farewell to the historic Boleyn Ground. (Image Credit: Julian Finney / Getty Images)
There was more controversy on the pitch, as a West Ham fan threw a bottle at goalkeeper David De Gea after the Man Utd player celebrated his club’s 1-1 equalizer. However, De Gea’s celebrations would be short-lived, as his squad failed to pick up a crucial win against the Hammers, with the final whistle blowing at 3-2.
While it was a celebratory moment for West Ham in the final match at their home 112 years, United squandered a chance to break into the Premier League table’s top four, sitting behind rivals Manchester City by two points. United now need City to stumble if they are to be in with a chance of Champions League football.
The calls for manager Louis van Gaal to be removed from his post are now louder than ever, with the Dutchman admitting he was arrogant in his certainty that United would defeat their rivals – an arrogance that hasn’t exactly been earned, considering the squad’s dismal season. While question marks remain over Van Gaal, who many believe has remained in his position as Man U manager for an undeserved length of time, the club now hopes for a stroke of luck if they are to break the final four before the end of the season.
