West Ham will face an FA inquiry after toxic scenes at the London Stadium — and it could even mean them being forced to fight relegation behind closed doors.
Hundreds of fans staged protests against the club’s board after Burnley took the lead in the second half accusing them: ‘You’ve destroyed our club.’
There were four different pitch invasions, and the FA are bound to take action once referee Lee Mason puts in his report.
Ashley Barnes (right) scored twice either side of a Chris Wood goal as Burnley thrashed West Ham at a toxic London Stadium
The game descended into disgrace as West Ham fans invaded the pitch in the second half, with Mark Noble grappling one
Referee Lee Mason blew his whistle and the game was paused multiple times due to poorly behaved Hammers supporters
As well as scoring twice, Barnes helped out security personnel in Stratford by tripping up one of the shameful pitch invaders
Star man Barnes removed a corner flag pole out of the hand of another Hammers supporter who had invaded the field of play
MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS AND LEAGUE TABLE
West Ham (5-2-2-1): Hart 5; Zabaleta 5.5, Collins 6.5, Ogbonna 5.5, Cresswell 6, Antonio 5.5; Kouyate 5.5, Noble 6; Joao Mario 5.5 Chicharito 71, 5), Lanzini 5.5; Arnautovic 6
Subs not used: Adrian, Hugill, Chicharito, Evra, Cullen, Rice, Browne
Bookings: Cresswell, Lanzini
Manager: David Moyes 5
Burnley (4-3-3): Pope 7; Lowton 6, Tarkowski 7, Mee 6.5, Ward 6; Hendrick 6 , Westwood 6 (Wood 60, 8), Cork 6; Lennon 6.5, Barnes 7 (Vokes 88), Berg Gudmundsson 6.5
Subs not used: Lindegaard, N’Koudou, Marney, Bardsley, Long
Goals: Barnes (66), Wood (69) (82)
Bookings: Westwood, Lennon
Manager: Sean Dyche 7.5
Referee: Lee Mason 7
Man of the Match: Chris Wood
Attendance: 56,904
- Premier League
- Premier League
- Championship
- League One
- League Two
- Scottish Premiership
- Scottish Div 1
- Scottish Div 2
- Scottish Div 3
- Ligue 1
- Serie A
- La Liga
- Bundesliga
Ashley Barnes broke with the deadlock with a fine shot to end an impressive team move
Barnes touched the ball 34 times, scoring twice in a decisive 89-minute display
For more facts and stats visit Sportsmail’s brilliant Match Zone.
Burnley’s substitutes allowed children to sit on the bench to escape fighting between West Ham supporters in the stands.
Planned protest marches before the game had been called off and the atmosphere was reasonable in the ground until Ashley Barnes put Burnley in front after 66 minutes.
That saw one fan run on the pitch and Hammers skipper Mark Noble pushed him to the ground trying to get him to go off.
But it was when Burnley sub Chris Wood scored the first of his two goals that it really became toxic.
Around 1,000 fans stormed the gangway in the London Stadium trying to get to owners David Gold and David Sullivan, who ultimately had to be ushered away for their own safety.
What West Ham needed was a good start and they got it, but missed three chances in as many minutes to make it count.
First Marko Arnautovic fired a shot against Nick Pope’s legs after Joao Mario’s clever pass put him through, and then Manuel Lanzini curled an effort over the bar.
Then January recruit Mario was left unmarked from Aaron Cresswell’s corner as Pope ran into bodies trying to chase the ball, but struck his volley too high.
Hammers also claimed they might have had a penalty when Cresswell’s cross struck Aaron Lennon on the arm, but ref Lee Mason quite correctly ruled it accidental.
West Ham paid respect to legend Bobby Moore before what was their first home game since the 25th anniversary of his death
Hammers fans held up tee-shirts to display ‘Moore 6’ as players from both sides gathered in the centre circle before kick-off
When the match got underway, some disgruntled West Ham supporters held up banners in protest against the club’s owners
One of the largest banners read: ‘$OLD A DREAM GIVEN A NIGHTMARE’, describing West Ham’s move away from Upton Park
Co-owner David Sullivan (front left) watched on with a serious look on his face in the first half at Stratford’s London Stadium
England goalkeeper Joe Hart, starting his first Premier League game for West Ham this year, punched the ball clear early on
Burnley were unchanged from the side that beat Everton a week ago and it was clear that victory had given their confidence a boost.
They worked their way through that difficult spell and began to gain some possession, although without giving Hart anything significant to do.
It was Pope, also hoping to attract Gareth Southgate’s attention as a late option for Russia, who was called into action again.
Manuel Lanzini got behind Burnley’s defence and should have scored, but Pope reacted brilliantly to his low shot to keep it out again.
West Ham also had the first good chance after the interval when Mark Noble sent Arnautovic into space on the right.
But while the Austrian did brilliantly holding the ball and running at Burnley’s defence, none of the home midfield went with him and he ended up running out of room.
Thirty-year-old keeper Hart, pictured kicking the ball under pressure from Barnes, had been recalled in place of Adrian
Barnes took a blow to his nose and briefly required treatment on the sidelines from two members of Burnley’s medical staff
Burnley striker Barnes battled on despite having been left with a bloodied nose and face, which he wiped with a towel
Manuel Lanzini had a good chance to break the deadlock during the opening 45 minutes but he was unable to find the net
Barnes found the net early in the second half but his strike was ruled out for offside, though replays showed he had been level
Burnley finally threatened in the 54th minute when Jack Cork’s clever ball put Ashley Barnes clear but he was just offside and although he beat Hart it didn’t count.
It was all the encouragement Burnley manager Sean Dyche needed though to turn the tide and he sent onChris Wood as an extra attacker.
In minutes theformer Leeds striker had made one and scored one and the atmosphere in the London stadium turned ugly.
First Wood chased Matt Lowton’s ball down the right before squaring it back for Barnes to fire home.
That was cue for chaos with a fan running on to the pitch and being bundled down by Hammers skipper Mark Noble.
But West Ham’s concentration was broken and within minutes of the restart Barnes and Lennon had combined to set up Wood to back heel home for the second.
That sparked all the bad scenes including one supporter picking the corner flag out while the game was going on and planting it in the centre circle.
And it was almost an after thought when Wood scored his second, cashing in as Joe Hart spilled Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s 25-yard shot.
Nothing would deny Barnes on 66 minutes when he slotted the ball into the top corner to score his seventh goal of the season
Barnes celebrated his first goal with Burnley substitute Chris Wood, who then doubled the Burnley lead moments later
Wood made it 2-0 with a simple finish past goalkeeper Hart who did not enjoy his return to the Hammers starting XI
After Barnes had scored again to make sure of their victory, Burnley’s players congratulated each other at full time