West Ham’s London Stadium is in serious danger of being over-sanitised after a ridiculous new fan barrier is installed.
There was much confusion among fans over West Ham’s latest London Stadium redevelopment this summer.
Many West Ham fans were – and remain – unhappy with the London Stadium since the big move to Stratford in 2016.
The major bone of contention has been the distance from the stands to the pitch.
Given what West Ham fans had at their beloved Upton Park and the vision sold to them on leaving the famous Boleyn Ground, it is understandable.
Seating behind both goals at the London Stadium was reconfigured last year to be squared off in line with more traditional football stadia.
West Ham announced a redevelopment to the West Stand would take place this summer alongside a stadium capacity increase from 60,000 to 62,500.
The news was welcomed by many West Ham fans who hate the bowl-shaped nature of the ground as it was presumed the West Stand would be squared off – as the Hammers had done with the stands behind the goals.
A record crowd watched West Ham open the season with a 2-0 defeat to Man City.
But there was also a new feature at the ground which has not gone down well with most football fans, let alone Hammers supporters.
Now West Ham’s London Stadium in danger of being over-sanitised after a ridiculous new fan barrier was installed.
Claret and Hugh’s Sean Whetstone took to Twitter to post pictures of the fan wall which now means home and away fans can no longer see each other.
“The London Stadium have installed a barrier as part of the new West Stand meaning home and away cannot see each other,” Whetstone said alongside the pictures on Twitter.
Football rivalry is at the heart of why we are all here. It is central to why millions of fans turn up season in, season out to watch English football.
That rivalry and the back and forth between fans – not just West Ham fans – is what the beautiful game is all about.
Football has been sanitised beyond all recognition over the last couple of decades.
And this fan barrier is the latest example of that.
Whoever made the decision to install this barrier has some serious questions to answer. Is Donald Trump calling the shots at the stadium now?
If West Ham have any sense they must take it down before the next game.
Football fans are the fundament of why we play this game. Without the passion the rivalry there is no game.
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