West Ham have threatened their supporters with life bans following violent clashes during the Hammer's 4-2 defeat against Watfordat the London Stadium on Saturday.
The defeat, which was West Ham's third in four games, was overshadowed by skirmishes in the stands, which have been intensified by a growing feud between supporters and those in charge of the club, including club CEOKarren Brady.
Before Watford's visit on Saturday, West Ham season ticket holderswere sent a letter from the club,urging them to 'sit down' in order to comply with safety regulations.
In the 30th minute against Watford, the London Stadium stewards made their way down the aisles, forcing supporters to sit, which prompted angry responses from West Ham supporters, who have stood up during games for decades at Upton Park.
Got a nice little telling off letter from West Ham. This is obviously going to make everyone sit... #WHUFC pic.twitter.com/ekAufnTmx4
To make matters worse, in the second-half Watford supporters broke through thesegregation barriers, proceeding to fight with West Ham fans in the upper tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking stand.
It was also a horror show for the Hammers on the pitch, as Slaven Bilic's side threw away a 2-0 lead, eventually losing 4-2 after a 25 minute surge from the Hornets.
After the game West Ham released an official statement on the violence, stating that supporters, once identified, will be banned from attending West Ham fixtures for life.
Well the letter has had little effect as the lower fans in north, south and some of west continue to stand pic.twitter.com/tRqCd7d79y
The statementread:"West Ham unreservedly condemn the behaviour of the individuals involved in incidents during (Saturday's) fixture against Watford.
"While these isolated incidents were quickly brought under control, this behaviour has no place in football and West Ham will work tirelessly to eradicate such incidents.
"We are currently undertaking an immediate full review with all stakeholders. This includes police, stadium landlord and operator LS185, who are responsible for appointing and managing stewards and security, to ensure we eradicate such incidents moving forward.
"Our policy on this behaviour remains one of zero tolerance and we will work with the police and other stakeholders to identify the individuals involved. Once identified, they will be banned from attending any West Ham United fixture for life and we will request the courts serve banning orders to prevent these individuals attending any football."