Nothing Like Some Carling Cup Bedlam

At least stateside, it’s been difficult to gin up excitement over the Carling Cup, though the fans in London are using it to occasion some hooligan-approved bedlam, as was the scene last night in West Ham with fans storming the field and generating mid-grade anarchy in the streets.↵
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↵Riot police on the scene had little success quelling the chaos as goons ran onto the field after each goal by home West Ham against crosstown rival Millwall, who they played for the first time in four years. The fervor had been stoked well before the match, with message board posts exhorting fans to bring weapons and leave loved ones at home.

writer Martin Samuel did bring his son and instantly regretted the decision.↵↵⇥Everyone thought I was mad to bring the boys here, even in the comfort of the posh↵⇥seats. I said it was about time they saw a real football match. It seems a rotten joke now. I meant lively. I didn’t mean like this.”↵↵↵Some are saying that West Ham could be, or at least should be, ousted from the tournament for the lax attitude both by players and security towards the rioters. All told, many were treated for injuries resulting from bats and bottles that were hurled outside and a man was stabbed in the chest, though was fortunate enough to survive. The mood the evening can be summed up by a reaction to that news by a poster on Millwill Online: “Let’s just pray that whoever it is pulls through ok.. unless they’re a West Ham ****, then let them die.”↵

↵↵(H/T to Deadspin on the video)↵

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