SeagullSimon
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ALAN PARDEW admits West Ham must take some of the blame for triggering serious crowd trouble at The Den.
Eight police horses charged on to the pitch and riot cops had to stamp out aggro by shameful Hammers fans, who saw their team taken apart.
The violence was triggered by keeper Stephen Bywater’s sending off in the 60th minute of a volatile derby clash.
And Upton Park boss Pardew said: “You can’t condone that behaviour. But — by the same token — the frustration that was coming from the pitch was always going to make our fans edgy.
“We have to take responsibilty for that.”
Trouble flared when around 200 of the 2,900 visiting supporters attempted to bust through security cordons to get at rival fans.
Scuffles broke out with stewards and some of the 1,100 officers on duty for the biggest police operation in British football history, costing £270,000.
And a huge-anti racism banner was ripped up. Two Hammers fans were arrested inside the ground for smashing up the toilets and a further three were ejected for causing disorder.
CCTV footage will be used by the authorities to track down those responsible for the trouble, which marred a pulsating match between the two First Division play-off rivals.
A seat was thrown from the home end, four Millwall fans were ejected and one was arrested for racial abuse.
Lions chairman Theo Paphitis said: “West Ham sold tickets only to season ticket-holders so, in theory, they should be able to track down the culprits. The whole incident has been captured on CCTV and will be passed on to the police.”
Millwall boss Dennis Wise said: “Our punters were fantastic but I’m disappointed with the West Ham fans.
“It’s not come from Millwall. Our fans didn’t react. They just got on with enjoying the game. It makes the day sweeter for everyone connected to Millwall.”
Eight police horses charged on to the pitch and riot cops had to stamp out aggro by shameful Hammers fans, who saw their team taken apart.
The violence was triggered by keeper Stephen Bywater’s sending off in the 60th minute of a volatile derby clash.
And Upton Park boss Pardew said: “You can’t condone that behaviour. But — by the same token — the frustration that was coming from the pitch was always going to make our fans edgy.
“We have to take responsibilty for that.”
Trouble flared when around 200 of the 2,900 visiting supporters attempted to bust through security cordons to get at rival fans.
Scuffles broke out with stewards and some of the 1,100 officers on duty for the biggest police operation in British football history, costing £270,000.
And a huge-anti racism banner was ripped up. Two Hammers fans were arrested inside the ground for smashing up the toilets and a further three were ejected for causing disorder.
CCTV footage will be used by the authorities to track down those responsible for the trouble, which marred a pulsating match between the two First Division play-off rivals.
A seat was thrown from the home end, four Millwall fans were ejected and one was arrested for racial abuse.
Lions chairman Theo Paphitis said: “West Ham sold tickets only to season ticket-holders so, in theory, they should be able to track down the culprits. The whole incident has been captured on CCTV and will be passed on to the police.”
Millwall boss Dennis Wise said: “Our punters were fantastic but I’m disappointed with the West Ham fans.
“It’s not come from Millwall. Our fans didn’t react. They just got on with enjoying the game. It makes the day sweeter for everyone connected to Millwall.”
