Brady criticised for Stadium ejections
West Ham United vice-chair Karren Brady has received scores of criticism for the actions of the stadium security in the club’s 1–1 Premier League draw with Stoke City.
On 3rd November an article appeared on fans’ forum, Knees Up Mother Brown, claiming the security firm to whom security had been outsourced to asked for “10 good lads” of “cage fighting backgrounds” to join the security team for the Stoke City fixture, sparking outrage on fans’ forums, one user commenting it was “almost behind belief”.
The next day, co-chairman David Gold released a statement through ClaretandHugh, a site edited by journalist Hugh Southon, denying the story. Gold wrote “absolutely no contact” had been made and a stadium operator spokesman stated “Response team members must hold an SIA license and be of good character. There is categorically no requirement for any specialist training”.
Yet despite this at the match, many fans were forcibly ejected, by as a forum user described, a “bunch of big blokes all in black with bright green baseball caps”. One fan reported that those ejecting fans wore no ID and refused to reveal their names or the names of their company. Fans were ejected for standing, however others have reported some ejected merely sung songs such as “Brady, Brady, you’re a c*nt” and “justice for 114” in reference to a block of supporters who were relocated to improve segregation between home and away supporters. Fans claimed they were forced to stand on top of the stairs as others were led away and that they couldn’t see the match due to all the movement in front of them.
Brady was charged with organising the move so has borne the brunt of the criticism. Fans have stated “she’s lost the plot” and “Taxi for Karren, and she can pay for it.”