West Ham vs Frankfurt supporter briefing
We met on Monday to discuss arrangements for supporter safety at this week’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt at the London Stadium. This was a typical call of the kind that WHUST has with the FSE before a European match and we were joined by Dario Minden from the Eintracht Frankfurt fan organisation and Superintendent Jo Edwards who is the match commander for Thursday’s game.
In attendance were:
Sue Watson – WHUST
Mark Inskipp – WHUST
Martin Endemann (Endi) - Football Supporters’ Europe (FSE)
Matt Willis – Football Supporters’ Europe (FSE)
Dario Minden - Eintracht Frankfurt Fanabteilung
Jo Edwards – Metropolitan Police Superintendent and Match Commander
Number of Frankfurt fans attending the fixture
We had expressed concern with the estimated 30,000 Frankfurt fans attending their previous round’s match at Barcelona and the potential for a similar number attending this week at the London Stadium.
Jo stated that they are not expecting many additional supporters according to information from their counterparts in Germany and from the clubs. This excludes those attending as part of the 3,000 away ticket allocation. The police will continue to monitor this and update their information.
Endi stated that at Barcelona Frankfurt were allocated 5% but Barcelona had some season ticket holders that resold their tickets to Frankfurt supporters.
Dario explained that although Frankfurt fans normally travel in large numbers, many people went to Barcelona for an extended trip and that they are now saving their time off from work to (hopefully) go to Sevilla.
Rules for away fans attending the fixture
As per other games no supporters wearing away colours will be allowed in the home end and stewards will have the responsibility to manage and control this.
We discussed the situation of away supporters in the home stands and what action would be taken, for example whether they will be ejected from the Stadium and not be moved to an away area.
It was acknowledged by Jo that away supporters who are not in Frankfurt colours may have tickets for home stands and that their behaviour during the match would dictate any responses. Jo further commented “if they sit on their hands and don’t make themselves known, they won’t be identified.”
Ticketless fans
Jo said that if any fans come without a ticket then it is the Met’s preference that they remain in Central London and not travel to Stratford as there are no away fans pubs. The Met will be liaising with their German counterparts to emphasise this and to ensure that German fans coming without tickets still have an enjoyable time in London.
Categorisation
Jo stated that it is a high risk category match, but that the Leeds cup match was more challenging in terms of numbers. The main reason that it’s a high risk is due to unknowns and doesn’t concern her too much. Jo believes there is a good plan in place in terms of numbers of officers and the police are working well with the Club, the safety team, British Transport Police and their German counterparts. The police will be continuing to update and share intelligence. Any plans will be adjusted accordingly as needed.
The police are expecting the Frankfurt fans will do some kind of walk-up but nothing has been formalised as yet. They will be working with BTP to manage the fans' journeys from Central London.
Plans for after the match are being finalised.
Holding back after the match
There are no plans on holding away fans back after the match – the police don’t plan in advance on ever doing that and only did it for Lyon due to circumstances at the time. It’s known that European fans like to stay on after the match in any case. There are a lot of fans coming by coach and this is part of the management plan.
Policing will not be based on fans’ reputation but on the information and intelligence given before and during the day.
General information
Dario was asked what numbers of fans would be likely to be arriving on Wednesday and thought that most would be arriving on Thursday. After the match, many will be immediately travelling by coach back home or to the airport for their flights. He would expect there to be many more West Ham fans in Frankfurt on Wednesday for the other match.
Endi stated that the incident in Sevilla happened not as a result of Frankfurt fans looking for trouble with West Ham fans but as a result of a police decision to lead the Frankfurt fans after their match directly to the square where West Ham fans had gathered. It was more of a coincidence than anything else.
Endi also commented that the experience of European fans attending West Ham this season was that the police operation was very good and if you behave appropriately then there are no problems with the British police.
Jo explained the British policing approach as an engaging style, speaking to people and chatting with fans. The Police talk to European supporters to find out whether they have tickets, asking them how they will watch the match if they don’t have them and seeking information so that the Police can help them.
We emphasised to Dario that there is nowhere for away fans to drink near the Stadium and if they found somewhere they would be unlikely to be actually showing the match. Matt confirmed this having been an away fan at West Ham on several occasions. He suggested drinking around Kings Cross and getting the train from St Pancras. Jo would also expect fans to be drinking around Liverpool Street as well.
For the return match
The Met have been invited by their German counterparts to be in Frankfurt as a supporting and communicating facility for them. They are there to help the German police. They will ensure that the advice and guidance from them is passed onto the fan organisations.
Dario said that it will be hard for West Ham fans to get tickets in the home end as the demand from home supporters is much more than the tickets available. Also, the culture in Germany is that it is not unusual for away fans to be in other sectors and that they are normally tolerated. He also said that any fans that are in the City centre during the match will be safe as any potential troublemakers will be at the match. What could be an issue is being in the city centre on Wednesday evening so fans should stay in groups.