The FA have condemned the violence in the clash between
West Ham and Millwall, calling for "all culprits to be banned for
life".
Earlier on Tuesday evening a man was stabbed and violent battles
broke out between rival fans outside Upton Park in what police
labelled "large-scale" trouble.
When the match did get under way it was marred by several late
pitch invasions as West Ham went on to win in extra-time.
Hundreds of fans were involved in the disorder which police said
was caused by people without tickets to the second-round tie who
had planned to start trouble.
Police said later that the victim of the stabbing was a
44-year-old man who was in a stable condition in hospital.
A Football Association spokesperson told Press Association
Sport: "We absolutely condemn all of the disorder that has occurred
at Upton Park this evening both inside and outside of the
ground.
"We will be working with all parties, including the police and
clubs, to establish the facts surrounding tonight's events.
"We strongly expect all culprits to be banned from football for
life. They have no place in our game."
As the final whistle blew at Upton Park hundreds of fans invaded
the pitch. Police and stewards battled with fans in an attempt to
remove them from the field of play.
As thousands of fans flooded from the ground, police closed
several roads surrounding Upton Park and ushered them towards the
tube station.
Around 200 officers in riot gear, backed up by at least 20
mounted officers, patrolled outside the station.
Onlookers earlier said Green Street, close to the ground, was
filled with several hundred West Ham and Millwall fans before the
match.
They said bottles and bricks started being hurled shortly after
6pm.
A 29-year-old man, who runs a kebab shop in Green Street said:
"All hell broke loose, it was very frightening. It's not every day
you see stuff like that.
"There were West Ham fans on one side and Millwall on the other.
They were being kept apart by the police. There were West Ham fans
for as far as you could see along the street.
"Bottles and bricks were being thrown from the back and some
were hitting West Ham fans at the front. There were loads of people
with bloodied faces."
He said he closed his shop for two hours as the violence flared.
He added that the clashes continued after the match kicked off.
Another man, aged 19 but who did not want to be named, said:
"People were chipping bricks off buildings and throwing them at
police. I saw one officer getting kicked as he was on the
ground."
Rubbish, shards of glass and beer cans were strewn across Green
Street and bricks could be seen in rubbish bins.
About 50 police officers in riot gear congregated outside Upton
Park tube station as they waited for the final whistle. Several
hundred fans were seen leaving the match before the game ended.
The Metropolitan Police said tonight they had no reports of any
officers being injured during the violence.
It is believed the travelling Millwall fans were kept in the
stadium to allow the West Ham fans to leave the area in an attempt
to stop further clashes.
Outside the stadium a 56-year-old man, who witnessed the
violence earlier tonight, said: "There were a lot of lunatics
around. The thing is, between these two sets of fans, it's hatred.
The teams haven't played each other for so long so I suppose it was
always going to kick off.
"The Old Bill seemed to have done quite well."
