West Ham and Millwall face punishment by the English Football Association after being charged with several offences following the crowd violence that marred their League Cup clash in August. The FA have issued four charges against West Ham and three against Millwall following an investigation into the serious disturbances in and around Upton Park on August 25.
A 44-year-old man was taken to hospital with stab wounds and several others were injured, while West Ham striker Carlton Cole and Millwall's Jason Price both suffered racist abuse during the match, which the Hammers won 3-1 after extra time. A full range of sanctions are available including the clubs being made to play matches behind closed doors.
An FA statement said each club faces charges of; failure to ensure their supporters refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour; failure to ensure their supporters refrained from racist behaviour and failure to ensure their supporters did not throw missiles, harmful or dangerous objects onto the pitch. West Ham have also been charged with failure to ensure their supporters did not enter the field of play after fans invaded the pitch after each of their team's goals in the victory over their London rivals.
The FA's statement added: "The FA has liaised closely with all relevant authorities including the Metropolitan Police during the course of its investigations and has been in constant dialogue with both clubs during this time. "Both clubs now have a period of 14 days to respond to the charges." A West Ham spokesman said: "We are reviewing the FA charges and will respond accordingly. "In advance of the Millwall match, the club followed the strict advice of the police and relevant authorities at every stage of the planning process."
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