West Ham fan groups at war after rift over protest march

West Ham United have been accused of failing to respond appropriately after the chairman of one of their supporter groups was left fearing for his safety, having received abuse and threats over attempts to organise a protest march against the club’s board before Saturday’s home game against Burnley.

Mark Walker, the head of the West Ham United Independent Supporters’ Association (WHUISA), has said he plans to stay away from games for the foreseeable future. He questioned why senior figures at West Ham had not offered more backing after he became the target of an online campaign orchestrated by a rival fan organisation, some of whose founders are former hooligans and which has links with an unrelated group condemned by anti-racism campaigners.

“It was quite scary,” Walker told the Guardian. “Some of the things that were written and sent made me fearful for my safety. After showing West Ham so much loyalty for so long, it would have been nice to have something to show it was recognised that it was a difficult situation. They could have done and said something. I can understand not wanting to get into the weeds of it but they could have made it clear we’re a football family and these sort of things can’t be tolerated.

Source: theguardian