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West Ham crowd trouble: Emergency meeting after invasions, chaos at London Stadium

An emergency meeting was held on Monday morning following pitch invasions and crowd disorder during West Ham's 3-0 defeat to Burnley on Saturday.

The arena's stakeholders were called together to prevent a repeat of the pitch invasions and clashes between players and fans.

West Ham's owners want to take over stewarding of the stadium, according to reports, after co-owner David Sullivan was struck in the face with a coin.

But such decisions are less straightforward for the Premier League club than they would be elsewhere in the league because of the complicated ownership and operating structure of the rented former Olympic Stadium.

West Ham, venue owners E20 Stadium LLP -- which includes interests from the London Legacy Development Corporation and Newham Council -- and the London Mayor are all involved, but London Stadium 185 operates the stadium and is responsible for safety and stewarding.

The club immediately launched an investigation into the scenes -- which were apparently the result of anger from fans at the way it is being run -- and Newham Council told ESPN FC it, too, was investigating.

The Sports Ground Safety Authority, which is responsible for stadium licensing, is also involved and was reported to be at the emergency meeting.

Potential measures that could be introduced include increased stewarding numbers, a reduction of capacity at the stadium for West Ham's matches, and complete closure to fans.

There could also be punishment for the club from the Football Association, which is looking into the incidents.

"The FA strongly condemns the crowd disturbances seen today at West Ham United versus Burnley and will be seeking observations from West Ham as well as awaiting the match referee's report," the governing body said.

The Premier League added: "'It is essential that everybody who plays or attends a Premier League match can do so safely. There is no place at any level of the game for what happened at the London Stadium.

"While the official investigation of the incidents will be carried out by the Football Association, we will be asking our own questions of West Ham United about what happened, especially to ensure similar events never reoccur."

West Ham issued a statement after the match, which read: "West Ham United have immediately launched a full and thorough investigation into the incidents which marred the second half of today's match and are committed to taking decisive and appropriate action.

"An emergency meeting has been called with all London Stadium stakeholders. There will be no further comment at this time."