**The Football Association is to investigate the violence that marred the Carling Cup clash between West Ham and Millwall at Upton Park on Tuesday.**One man was stabbed as fans clashed outside the ground, while there were also three pitch invasions.
“We absolutely condemn all of the disorder that has occurred at Upton Park,” said an FA spokesperson.
“We will be working with all parties, the police and clubs, to establish the facts surrounding these events.”
The FA also confirmed that it expected any fan identified as being involved in the violence to be banned for life, stating “they have no place in our game”.
606: DEBATE
“Unfortunately it begs the question, should games like these be played behind closed doors”
Koos the Hammer
West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola condemned those responsible for the trouble, stating they were not fans of football.
“Everything I do is to make sure the game is exciting for the supporters,” Zola told 5 Live. "That’s what I always focus on and it’s difficult to comment on this because it’s not sport.
"I’m sure the club will make a statement and be more help than me. I love the game and I always try to make it enjoyable.
“I don’t like these things: anybody who loves the game doesn’t like these things.”
Hundreds of fans were involved in the disorder which police said was caused by people without tickets to the Carling Cup second-round tie who had planned to start trouble.
This is the first time London rivals West Ham and Millwall have played each other since April 2005.
Eyewitness reports suggested opposing fans threw bottles and bricks and starting small fires as police moved in to try to prevent the disturbances.
Inside the stadium, police and stewards battled to remove fans from the pitch throughout the match, which West Ham came back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 after extra time.
The first invasion was after Junior Stanislas’ equaliser, while the second more serious invasion happened after Stanislas scored a penalty to give the Hammers the lead.
Play was briefly suspended as the referee decided to take the players off the pitch.
West Ham midfielder Jack Collison, who declared himself ready to play despite his father dying in a motorcycle accident on Sunday, was one of several players who pleaded with fans to get back to the stands.
It took officials around six minutes to clear about 50 people from the pitch and police had to redeploy within the stadium to tackle the invasion.
Riot police lined the streets outside the stadium, roads were closed and a helicopter flew overhead in preparation for further possible clashes as thousands of fans tried to leave the stadium at full time.
Police said later that the victim of the stabbing was a 44-year-old man who was in a stable condition in hospital.