West Ham ask fans to move for Stoke City clash as they bid to avoid more trouble at London Stadium

Club have asked away fans to change seats as they try to avoid a repeat of crowd trouble that marred Chelsea clash and has plagued their season so far

George Cooper
Wednesday 02 November 2016 14:17 GMT
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Sections of the London Stadium broke out into violence with West Ham and Chelsea fans clashing inside the ground
Sections of the London Stadium broke out into violence with West Ham and Chelsea fans clashing inside the ground (Getty)

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West Ham will attempt to ward off further crowd trouble at the London Stadium by moving fans from their allocated seats for the Premier League clash against Stoke City on Saturday.

The club are cancelling away fans’ tickets and moving them further away from home supporters in an effort to avoid a repeat of the trouble that marred the recent EFL Cup clash against Chelsea.

Stoke are attempting to contact more than 80 fans to tell them of the changes, while some West Ham fans are also being moved.

In a club statement, Stoke told their fans: “The Potters have been advised by West Ham that supporters in certain seats will be issued with new ones for Saturday's game due to a change in seating arrangements.”

West Ham have been plagued by trouble since moving into The London Stadium at the start of this season.

There were disturbances at matches against Watford and Middlesbrough, but the worst trouble came during the 2-1 EFL Cup quarter-final win over the Blues, when seats, bottles and coins were hurled between rival groups.

Ahead of that match West Ham and Chelsea fans faced body searches and alcohol restrictions but those measures failed to deter confrontations, and the east-London club have been under pressure to take decisive steps.

After the Chelsea match senior MPs called for West Ham to play their matches behind closed doors if they fail to eradicate the violence.

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