ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: WEST HAM United have been fined €130,000 by an independent regulatory commission for the crowd trouble that marred August's League Cup tie against London rivals Millwall at Upton Park.
The east London club were found guilty of breaching Football Association rules on an evening when a 43-year-old Millwall fan was stabbed and police made 64 arrests. Millwall were cleared of all charges.
An FA statement read: “The club has been fined £115,000 (€130,000) and ordered to pay adjusted costs of £5,000 (€5,600) for the failure to ensure their supporters refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour and the failure to ensure their supporters did not enter the field of play.”
West Ham have 14 days in which to appeal the decision, and have indicated they may do so after they receive “comprehensive details” of the judgment.
Meanwhile, West Ham’s chairman, Andrew Bernhardt, has been weighing up the options available to the club’s owner, Straumur, over the sale of the club. Bernhardt has only a short time to finalise a sale, since funds to balance the club’s books must otherwise be raised through the transfer window.
One of the bidders, Tony Fernandes, claimed on Thursday it was “down to two bids for West Ham”. The Malaysian, who appears to be the best-placed bidder, added the new owner “needs total control”.
Not all the indications of interest are believed to have become firm offers and the former Birmingham City owners David Gold and David Sullivan are believed to be unconvinced about their chances. Even while in apparently advanced stages of negotiation with West Ham, the pair have maintained contact with other clubs, among them Charlton.
GianfranCo Zola, the manager, said: “All this talk is affecting everybody and the sooner we get it sorted the better.”
Guardian Service
