West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady has cited “teething problems” as the reason for the English Premier League football club’s troubled start to life at London Stadium.
West Ham moved to the ground, which served as the hub of London’s staging of the 2012 Olympic Games, in the summer ahead of the start of the 2016-17 season.
Crowd trouble has overshadowed a number of games, the most high-profile being the EFL Cup match against London rival Chelsea in October, which led to a number of arrests and some West Ham fans being handed banning orders.
Brady – who in September claimed West Ham’s move from Upton Park to London Stadium was “the most successful stadium migration in history” – has defended the club’s new home and pointed out that there has been a higher number of arrests at other stadia recently.
“We are coming up to the halfway point of the season and there have been 18 arrests at matches,” Brady said, according to the Press Association news agency. “At Arsenal last season there were 60, and at Manchester United there were 57. At an Aston Villa match recently there were 14 arrests.
“We have had teething problems and accept that any disorder is disruptive, but we want to put some sort of perspective on it. We have taken strong and decisive action and we are adamant that we want to eradicate the problems.”
Brady was speaking during a meeting between stadium operators, the Metropolitan Police and the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee yesterday (Thursday).
She added: “The majority of West Ham supporters are passionate and well behaved. We are talking about a very small minority which we have successfully identified and banned.”
Brady added that the stadium is “absolutely suitable” for football and said the ground would be capable of hosting a Uefa Champions League final.
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