Supporters and hooliganism Millwall F.C.

the first pitch invasion @ new wembley millwall fans, may 2017.

millwall have averaged gate close 12,000 per home game on 86 seasons in football league, while club have spent majority of time yo-yoing , forth between second , third tiers of english football. based in east end of london, club moved across river thames in 1910 south east london , support drawn surrounding areas. club , fans have historic association football hooliganism, came prevalence in 1970s , 1980s firm known f-troop, becoming more known millwall bushwackers, 1 of notorious hooligan gangs in england. on 5 occasions den closed fa , club has received numerous fines crowd disorder. bbc documentary panorama invited club millwall in 1977 show hooligan reputation myth , being blown out of proportion reporting. instead bbc portrayed hooliganism being rooted in millwall, , attempted link them far-right political party national front. show extremely damaging club. former club chairman reg burr once commented: millwall convenient coat peg football hang social ills on , example being reporting of convicted murderer gavin grant. although had played 8 different clubs, playing fewest number of games (four) millwall, , signed bradford city @ time, bbc used headline, former millwall striker gavin grant guilty of murder .

the stigma of violence attached millwall can traced on 100 years. millwall played local rivals west ham united away @ upton park on 17 september 1906 in western league game. both sets of supporters made of dockers, lived , worked in same locality in east london. many rivals working opposing firms , vying same business. local newspaper, east ham echo, reported that, first kick of ball seen trouble, storm burst when dean , jarvis came collision (millwall had 2 players sent off during match). aroused considerable excitement among spectators. crowds on bank having caught fever, free fights plentiful. in 1920s millwall s ground closed 2 weeks after newport county goalkeeper, had been struck missiles, jumped crowd confront of home supporters , knocked unconscious. ground again closed 2 weeks in 1934 following crowd disturbances after visit of bradford park avenue. pitch invasions resulted in closure in 1947 , in 1950 club fined after referee , linesman ambushed outside ground.

in 1960s, hooliganism in england became more reported. on 6 november 1965 millwall beat west london club brentford 2–1 away @ griffin park , during game hand grenade thrown onto pitch millwall end. brentford s goalkeeper chic brodie picked up, inspected , threw goal. later retrieved police , determined harmless dummy. there fighting inside , outside ground during game between both sets of supporters, 1 millwall fan sustaining broken jaw. sun newspaper ran sensationalist grenade-related headline soccer marches war! trouble reported @ loftus road on 26 march 1966 during match between queens park rangers , millwall, @ time when both sides near top of league table pushing promotion division two, london derby won 6–1 west london based team, qpr. in second-half, coin thrown terraces, struck millwall player len julians on head, drawing blood. stadium announcer warned game abandoned if there more disturbances crowd, prompting millwall fans invade pitch in unsuccessful attempt game abandoned. when millwall s unbeaten home record of 59 games came end against plymouth argyle in 1967, windows of away team s coach smashed. in same year, referee attacked , fa ordered club erect fences around den s terracing. on 11 march 1978 riot broke out @ den during fa cup quarter-final between millwall , ipswich town, home team losing 6–1. fighting began on terraces , spilled onto pitch; dozens of fans injured, hooligans turning on own team s supporters leaving innocent fans bloodied. bobby robson, manager of ipswich, said of millwall fans afterward, [the police] should have turned flamethrowers on them . in 1982 millwall club chairman alan thorne threatened close club because of violence sparked losing in fa cup non-league side slough town.

the 1985 kenilworth road riot, after fa cup sixth-round match between luton town , millwall on 13 march 1985, became 1 of worst , reported incidents of football hooliganism date. on night, approximately 20,000 people packed ground held half number watch luton beat millwall 1–0. numerous pitch invasions, fighting in stands , missile-throwing occurred, of 1 such object hit luton s goalkeeper les sealey. led ban on away supporters luton kenilworth road ground 4 years. luton asked millwall make wednesday night match all-ticket, ignored. result, rival hooligan firms gained access stadium. millwall hooligans , belonging luton s firm migs, many of 31 fans arrested after violence identified being chelsea s headhunters firm , west ham united s inter city firm. fa commissioned inquiry concluded not satisfied millwall f.c. took reasonable precautions in accordance requirements of fa rule 31(a)(ii). £7,500 fine levied against millwall, though later withdrawn on appeal. penalty millwall faced perhaps club s name synonymous bad in football , society .

in may 2002, hundreds of hooligans attaching millwall involved in disorder around ground, after team lost play-off game birmingham city. described bbc 1 of worst cases of civil disorder seen in britain in recent times. police spokeswoman said 47 police officers , 24 police horses injured, , metropolitan police considered suing club after events. chairman theo paphitis responded millwall not blamed actions of mindless minority attach club. problem of mob violence not solely millwall problem, not football problem, problem plagues whole of our society , said. paphitis later introduced membership scheme whereby fans prepared join , carry membership cards allowed den. scotland yard withdrew threat sue, stating: in light of efforts made , donation charity helping injured police officers, metropolitan police service has decided not pursue legal action against millwall f.c. in relation disorder . legal experts said have been difficult hold football club responsible occurred away ground , involved people did not attend match. scheme introduced paphitis applies perceived high-risk away games. many fans blame scheme diminishing millwall s away support, such @ leeds united fans issued vouchers exchanged tickets @ designated point of west yorkshire police s choosing on day of game. also, kick-off times arranged police result in few hundred fans making trip.

west ham united statue covered prevent vandalism millwall fans, august 2009

in january 2009, hundreds of millwall fans perceived high risk individuals gained access fa cup fourth-round match away @ hull city. game, won 2–0 hull, overshadowed when seats, coins , plastic bottles thrown away supporters. there conflicting reports in media whether missiles thrown hull supporters following chanting , jeering millwall fans of jimmy bullard (an ex-west ham player) prior fixture. on 25 august 2009, millwall played away @ west ham united in football league cup, losing 3–1 after time. 1 millwall supporter stabbed during clashes between 2 sets of fans outside ground. game saw hundreds of west ham fans invade pitch on 3 occasions, forcing game temporarily suspended once. police later said violence, because of scale, organised beforehand. in aftermath of disorder, millwall handed 3 charges fa , later cleared of of them; west ham received 4 charges , found guilty on 2 counts: violent, threatening, obscene , provocative behaviour, , entering field of play. west ham fined £115,000, amount seen insult millwall, staunchly defended actions of own fans , club s inability more had match @ rival s ground.

after game against queens park rangers @ loftus road in september 2010, manager kenny jackett said millwall s hooligan problems extent exaggerated media sensationalism. see unjust. easy club criticise , in time [at club], way have been reported unfair , said. other examples of include archive footage of hooligan element s past bad behaviour being shown, when disorder has occurred @ other grounds, not involving them. during game between millwall , huddersfield town, observer reported huddersfield town fan had thrown coin @ linesman, , millwall fans had intervened, , handed culprit on police. news of world, however, bore headline: millwall thugs deck linesman concrete . has led siege mentality among supporters of club, gave rise millwall fans famous terrace chant, no 1 likes us, don t care, being sung in defiant defence of , team. in april 2013, millwall met wigan athletic in semi-final of fa cup. millwall lost game 2–0. towards end of match, violence broke out in part of stand allocated millwall, individuals fighting amongst , against police, resulting in 14 arrests, of 2 wigan supporters. in january 2014, millwall fan ripped linesman s flag after corner not given side during game against leicester city; millwall lost 1–3.

on 29 may 2016, millwall played in football league 1 play-off final against barnsley @ wembley stadium, towards end of match, barnsley winning 3–1, group of millwall supporters broke though security barrier , attacked barnsley supporters, of whom forced leave stadium avoid violence. there objects thrown towards barnsley players , barnsley supporters during game. fighting , violence condemned football association.