Police officers to be on duty inside London Stadium for EFL Cup tie
Thursday 20 October 2016 19:20, UK
Metropolitan Police officers will be on duty inside the London Stadium for the first time for West Ham's EFL Cup match against Chelsea on Wednesday, according to Sky sources.
Sky Sports News HQ understands a temporary 'Airwave' radio communications system has now been installed inside the former Olympic Stadium. Stakeholders are yet to confirm details on exactly where officers will be deployed.
Fears were growing among stadium stakeholders that the lack of a suitable system would mean police could not carry out their duties effectively before, during and after the potentially explosive fixture.
More than 50,000 fans are expected for the first major night match at West Ham's new home. The fixture is likely to be assessed in the next few days as a high risk "Category B" or "Category C" game with the Met under increasing pressure to make sure that they have officers stationed within the ground.
In a statement Chelsea said they were "disappointed" after they were allocated 5,182 tickets for the game. Under competition rules, away teams are entitled to 10 per cent of the stadium's capacity.
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Chelsea requested their full allocation - 5,700 tickets of the 57,000-capacity stadium. However, West Ham are restricted to allocating 5,200 'away' tickets due to infrastructure issues.
To date, the police's command centre has been at the nearby Queen Elizabeth Park with officers only entering the stadium in case of criminal behaviour. Sky Sports News HQ understands a permanent 'Airwave' system will be fully installed by February 2017.
The temporary 'Airwave' system has been tested for the past fortnight and relies on a police Land Rover parked next to the stadium.
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West Ham, Chelsea and the Met Police have been in discussions about the security issues surrounding the match since the draw was made last month.
West Ham's first few months at London Stadium have been dogged with segregation issues and clashes between rivals fans.
Police refuse to discuss crowd control tactics ahead of high risk games, but they will be keen to segregate rival fans walking to the stadium from the nearby Stratford Station.
