Terrified child looks on as West Ham thugs brawl at new London Stadium which has seen some threatened with life bans
Shocking footage shows the moment the fight took place during the defeat to Watford as scared little girl clutches dad
THIS is the moment a terrified little girl clutches her dad in terror and watches on as West Ham thugs fight in the stands at their new London Stadium.
The first three games at the former Olympic Stadium in east London has been marred by fighting between Hammers fans in the stands leaving kids in tears, reflecting poor performances on the pitch.
In the shocking footage, youngsters look on in horror as home fans picked fights on each other just minutes into the second half on Saturday just before away side Watford went 3-2 up.
One shocked fan who took this video said it captures the moment it "kicked off" at the Olympic stadium, after one supporter made a racist remark.
And at one point in the footage, the person videoing tells a hooligan to stop swearing as there are kids around.
The video shows fans a dozen rows ahead being calmed by stewards, before men start fighting behind.
Terrified parents can be seen cradling their young children while men fight amongst them, with fans swearing and jostling, at around 50 minutes into the match.
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The match ended 4-2 after the Hammers had thrown away a two-goal lead to Watford after Michail Antonio’s early brace brace.
Some messages posted to social media claimed that the stewards were not quick enough to intervene when trouble started with claims that one of the bust-ups was over a SPILLED DRINK.
It is the second match marred by trouble, with footage emerging of fighting during the Europa League defeat to Astra Giurgiu.
West Ham later released a state condemning the scenes and vowing to ban for life individuals involved.
The statement read: "West Ham United unreservedly condemn the behaviour of the individuals involved in incidents during today's fixture against Watford.
"While these isolated incidents were quickly brought under control, this behaviour has no place in football and West Ham United will work tirelessly to eradicate such incidents.
"We are currently undertaking an immediate full review with all stakeholders. This includes police, stadium landlord and operator LS185, who are responsible for appointing and managing stewards and security, to ensure we eradicate such incidents moving forward.
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady announced the club will hold crunch talks with their London Stadium owners today in a bid to end the fans’ civil war.
She said: “The club has no control over stewards or police as it does not hold the safety certificate.
“So it is frustrating and disappointing something outside our control is happening. We will force a change if required as the safety of supporters is the primary concern.”
The club have vowed to issue lifetime bans to troublemakers with ten thugs already been banned.