West Ham vow life bans for pitch invaders

LONDON: West Ham have vowed to issue life bans to the fans who invaded the pitch at the club’s London Stadium during Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by Burnley.

The Premier League game was marred by four separate pitch invasions as well as protests against West Ham’s board as hundreds of supporters congregated beneath the directors’ box.Co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold were forced to flee their seats as fans chanted “sack the board” and “you killed our club”.

Former West Ham striker and manager Trevor Brooking confirmed that a coin had struck Sullivan’s glasses before Sullivan took shelter.“The club is working in close conjunction with the Metropolitan Police to identify those individuals who entered the pitch during the second half and... to identify those who threw missiles,” said a statement from West Ham.

“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.”