Hammers vow to ban hooligans for life

LONDON — West Ham United’s final game at Upton Park on Tuesday had to be delayed for 45 minutes after the Manchester United team bus was “smashed up”.

There were ugly scenes outside the ground, as bottles were thrown at the windows of the United team bus that could not get through the crowds of West Ham supporters.

One West Ham fan is even said to have head-butted one of the windows of the coach, which was stuck outside a pub near Upton Park, as the situation got out of control.

There were more problems inside Upton Park, as United goalkeeper David de Gea had bottles thrown at him for celebrating Anthony Martial’s goal in the 3-2 defeat.

The Football Association will launch an investigation into the trouble, with the threat of a fine now hanging over the Hammers. West Ham said they will “work with the police to identify those responsible and ban them for life”.

United captain Wayne Rooney got off the bus and revealed the chaos he and his team-mates had been forced to sit through. “The coach got smashed up,” he said. “I’m sure West Ham will be disappointed with their fans.”

Rooney had been one of only a handful of players who had been sitting on the bottom floor of United’s double decker coach. Videos later emerged that showed a number of players, including Phil Jones and Michael Carrick on the floor of the top deck, while bottles hit the windows. Jesse Lingard appeared to film the whole incident on his telephone.

Manager Louis van Gaal added: “The images tell everything ... It is not so nice. This has a bad effect on the players and that is a pity.”

Once they finally got inside the ground, United asked that the 7.45pm kick-off be pushed back to 8.30pm so they could have the normal amount of time to prepare.

Referee Mike Dean granted United’s request and the two teams did not start their on-pitch warm-up routines until 8pm.

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan blamed the problems on the visitors, claiming Man United were late. He also made the staggering claim that the damage to the United bus had been grossly exaggerated: “If you check the coach, there won’t be any damage to it,” he said. United had dismissed Sullivan’s claims.

Some eyewitnesses claimed that people caught up in the trouble were genuinely frightened and that children were crying and being carried through the crowds of people on their parents’ shoulders. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that one officer and a member of the public sustained minor injuries in the trouble.

West Ham move to the Olympic Stadium for the start of next season after 112 years at Upton Park.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH