WHUST wins BBC retraction of West Ham hooligan claim
WHUST has secured a rewrite by the BBC after it published an inaccurate and exaggerated report calling West Ham fans “hooligans”. The story was circulated to local papers and “cut and pasted” by several other journalists too.
The story was initially headlined: London Stadium hooliganism costs taxpayer £500,000
A new report by Tracey Crouch MP, chair of the Fan Led Review of Football Governance, shows how football would benefit from its recommendations – which have still not been implemented 12 months on.
On behalf of WHUST, chair Sue Watson and board member Chris Wheal attended a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Football Supporters in the House of Lords this morning where The Fan Led Review: One Year On was launched.
The Club and Stadium Operating representatives presented the ISC members and FSA officer with an overview of the safeguarding policy with the recognition of the statutory obligations to Premier League regulations, Newham Council and conformity of the Stadium’s operating licence. There followed a discussion of the relevant enforcement policy and the roles of the stewards and SLOs.
Read MoreWHUST stands shoulder to shoulder with MUST in their actions on the unfair and damaging reduction in the away ticket allocation for a game moved by broadcasters. We're fans not criminals. The police have an outdated and prejudiced attitude to football supporters.
Read MoreHammers supporters have demanded the government implement former Conservative sports minister Tracey Crouch’s Fan-led Review of football recommendations in full and at once.
The call from the West Ham United Supporters’ Trust (WHUST) comes after speculation in The Times that new prime minster Liz Truss will kick the fan-led review’s main demand – of an independent regulator for football – into the long grass and give football clubs time to come up with a softer alternative.
West Ham United Supporters’ Trust notes the acknowledgement from the PGMOL that the VAR decisions on Saturday 3rd September, involving West Ham United was “incorrect”.
Acknowledgement alone is not enough. The consequence of this negligence was that West Ham did not receive the points we should have gained through our performance on the pitch. This could prove to be detrimental in league position or financial earning at the end of the season.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust and The West Ham United Supporters’ Trust are appalled, yet not surprised, at the predictable farce surrounding the scheduling for the fixture this weekend.
It was totally unacceptable for the fixture date to be altered with only a week’s notice, however, the broadcasting companies and the Premier League have still not confirmed the kick-off time - this is a disgrace.
The Fooball Supporters Association have published an article on the catering prices charged to West Ham supporters at the London Stadium, including an interview wih WHUST Chair Sue Watson.
Boycott the Bars – a boycott organised by the West Ham United Supporters’ Trust (WHUST), the Independent Supporters Committee (ISC) and other fan groups – has seen concession stands go unused at games due to high prices.
It’s not just supporters in East London who are unhappy, the club themselves have threatened to take legal action against the owners of the London Stadium if beer and food prices are not lowered.
There are women of all ages who are passionate about West Ham. We think it’s time to give female supporters a voice and a platform to promote a more diverse fanbase. Consequently we are launching a female-run supporters group called Intrepid Irons.
The concept has been in the making over the past twelve months after listening to women share their matchday experience at home games, away and online too. The aim of Intrepid irons is to improve the female matchday experience.
The issue with "The Wall" and the prohibition of any bottles in the stadium for the Viborg match is potentially trying to mitigate against a match behind closed doors sanction from UEFA.
WHUST normally meets with the FSE (Football Supporters Europe), typically joined by someone from the Club/LS185 and the police match commander before any medium / high risk UEFA match. After the SK Rapid Wien home match, subsequent briefings mentioned the need to mitigate against the throwing of objects.
West Ham fan groups, on the Independent Supporters Committee, led by WHUST chair Sue Watson, appear to have secured a u-turn on staggering beer and food price increases. Stories in the Mail and on fan websites report the claim that prices will be cut but, officially, they club has only said they are “actively working on pricing”.
WHUST provided evidence that E20 was in breach of the concession agreement with the club, which pegs prices at West Ham to the average of three other London clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs.
WHUST Chair Sue Watson was interviewed this evening on BBC Radio 5 Live to give her thoughts on the forthcoming season.
She was interviewed on the 5 Live Drive program by Claire McDonnell who also happens to be a Hammers fan.
You can listen to the interview here:
Monday 1st August saw Trafalgar Square packed with 7000 supporters to set the scene for England’s Lionesses to receive their deserved praise and celebrate their historic achievement with the rest of the Nation. A real sense of pride was palpable amongst those there.
56 years after the England men’s team - led by 3 West Ham United stars - last lifted a piece of significant international silverware, the Lionesses won the Women’s Euros 2022. Again it was at Wembley and again it was against Germany!
A year ago Irons Supporting Foodbanks were gearing up for their first full season collecting for Newham Foodbank's 6 distribution centres.
In the 12 months since then with the support of West Ham fans and friends, they are supplying 20 foodbanks in Newham and Essex. Food-wise, they've delivered £50,000-worth of food into the community since January 2022. Every £350 they receive gets turned into £2,000-worth of food, in some cases £4,000. There's no other major London club with supporters like ours who look after their own. If you can, please drop them a few ££s so that we can keep going and support those who are struggling.
Updated 29th July 2022
Here we look at who we could be playing, how the seeding works, which clubs will be seeded and how the draw determines the home and away legs.
Match tickets are now on sale for the home leg of our Europa Conference Play Off matches, even though we don’t know who the opposition will be – or whether we will be at home or away for the 1st leg.
The Europa Conference League play-off round draw is at 13:00 BST on 2nd August, from UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
WHUST attended this stakeholder conference held at the National Football Museum in Manchester, on Monday 25th July 2022. The day was aimed at promoting discussion whilst enabling supporters to speak to a range of those involved, as the key stakeholders.
There were representatives from the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA), Football Supporters Association (FSA), Premier League, English Football League representatives, the Police, and those that advise government on a range of football related issues including the law and how it relates to football.
Many football clubs are entering into partnerships with cryptocurrency providers, including those with product offerings that encourage fans to purchase cryptocurrency backed tokens that provide so called ‘engagement opportunities’ with their clubs.
It is further noted that cryptocurrencies are a high-risk investment product not currently regulated in the UK.
This motion calls on the FSA is to develop a plan of action to address the proliferation of these schemes across football
Blowing Bubbles magazine are producing a special edition to celebrate Mark Noble’s long West Ham career this summer.
“His retirement at the end of last season, after 550 games, rounded off a career spent entirely with his hometown club, except for two brief loan spells at the start of his career. Such a player and such a career deserves a special send-off.”
We’ve long argued there is a tradition of fans standing at games as it increases choice, improves atmospheres and ensures supporter safety when hosted in properly managed and licensed standing areas.
With positive feedback from the early safe standing trial that five clubs – four in the Premier League and one in the Sky Bet Championship – have participated in from January 2022, the Trust is inviting supporters to provide their views on the prospect of safe standing at London Stadium.
It’s Official! West Ham United is a Top 8 club.
Whilst Sky may harp on about The Big 6, the Premier League actually has an official definition of The Top 6 and also The Top 8 and West Ham United are now a “Top 8 Club”
