Dark days of Eighties hooliganism won't return to football – Johnson

Published on Wednesday 26 August 2009 20:24

A "hooligan minority" will not be allowed to "shame the name of football", the Home Secretary has vowed.

Alan Johnson was speaking after clashes between West Ham and Millwall fans inside and outside Upton Park, in London, on Tuesday.

A flurry of text messages saying a fan had been stabbed sparked the mayhem inside Upton Park last night, supporters say.

The texts began circulating around the ground during the match – and led to the home fans trying to get into the away end.

He said: "We started getting the texts saying that a West Ham fan had been stabbed and they spread around the ground.

"It almost sparked a riot. Then the police started wading in and batons were flying.

"It was always a poisonous fixture. West Ham and Millwall hate each other, and it must have been the FA's worst nightmare to have to stage a midweek game at night."

Thirteen people were arrested after the clashes and three were taken to hospital, including a 43-year-old man who was stabbed in the chest in Priory Road near the ground. Last night, he remained in a stable condition in an east London hospital.

Mr Johnson described the violence as disgraceful and said he was confident the offenders would be brought to justice.

He said: "The dark days of violence on the terraces in the Seventies and Eighties are now behind us, thanks to targeted policing, proper crowd control, football banning orders and a change in attitude among fans themselves.

"The number of football-related arrests is now very low, and although 28 million fans attend matches every year, there is just one arrest per match – and that covers any incident inside or outside a stadium.

"But what happened at Upton Park was serious. We will not be returning to the days when a hooligan minority shamed the name of football."

The officer in charge of policing the match said the clashes were sparked by "a small number of supporters" intent on causing trouble.

Chief Superintendent Steve Wisbey said police would seek football banning orders stopping anyone involved in the violence entering any football stadium in the country.

It would also prevent them travelling abroad to watch games.

The FA has asked for life bans for those identified as being involved. The call was backed by Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe.

A dedicated police team will now examine CCTV footage from inside and outside the ground in a bid to track down the troublemakers.