West Ham United have released another statement relating to the angry scenes witnessed at the Olympic Stadium last weekend.
Furious fans who had been denied the opportunity to take part in a peaceful protest march opted instead to air their grievances with the club's owners inside the stadium, leading to David Sullivan and David Gold leaving their seats midway through the second half.And the club confirmed today that their investigation into the incident continues, whilst insisting that they will ban, for life, any supporter who entered the field of play or is proven to have thrown objects towards the Directors' Box.
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"West Ham United are committed to taking decisive and positive action with the primary focus of ensuring London Stadium is a safe, comfortable and secure environment for supporters attending future matches," read the statement published on whufc.com
"Following the incidents which marred the second half of the Premier League fixture with Burnley on Saturday 10 March, the Club is conducting a full and thorough investigation, and has attended a series of emergency meetings with London Stadium stakeholders.
"The Club is working in close conjunction with the Metropolitan Police to identify those individuals, who entered the pitch during the second half, and with stadium operator LS185, using London Stadium’s high-quality CCTV footage, to identify those who threw missiles, both of which are specific offences under the Football (Offences) Act 1991.
"Any individual found guilty will be banned from attending any West Ham United fixture, home and away, for life and the Club will request the courts serve a banning order to prevent these individuals attending any football matches in the future."
The club also confirmed that they will be heading a meeting of the Safety Advisory Group later this week, in which the incident will be discussed further.
"Senior Club representatives will take a full and leading role at an emergency meeting of the core Safety Advisory Group (SAG) at London Stadium on Thursday," added the statement.
"There, West Ham United will be joined by representatives from LS185, certifying authority Newham Council, the Sports Ground Safety Authority, the Metropolitan Police, E20 and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC).
"The Club will make clear that its primary concern is for the safety and comfort of its supporters on matchdays and, to that end, will lead discussions centred on the safety management plans put in place and the policing and stewarding for future fixtures at London Stadium, the first of which will be the Premier League visit of Southampton on Saturday 31 March."
Meanwhile an image of the supporter who carried a corner flag onto the field of play during Saturday's game is being used to promote one of the protests planned by supporters later this month.
61-year-old Paul Colborne, who has attended home matches for the last 49 years carried the flag towards the centre circle before holding it aloft - a shot that is being seen by many as the defining image of the current round of anti-Board protests.
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