FA charges Millwall and West Ham

The Football Association has issued a total of seven charges against West Ham United and Millwall over the ugly scenes surrounding their Carling Cup clash last month.

Violent clashes between rival sets of supporters as well as with police and stewards inside and outside the ground marred the game, which was won by the Hammers 2-1 after extra time.

And in response, the FA has issued the Premier League club with four separate charges including failing to control their supporters and a failure to ensure their supporters refrained from racist behaviour.

Three charges have also been levied against Millwall, who are accused of similar lack of control over their own fans.

A statement from the FA described the various incidents inside and outside Upton Park as 'serious crowd disturbances' before listing the specific seven charges against the two sides.

'West Ham United FC have been charged on four counts of failing to control their supporters whilst Millwall FC have been charged on three counts following events at the Carling Cup fixture,' the statement explained.

'It is alleged that both clubs failed to ensure that their supporters conducted themselves in an orderly fashion.'

West Ham's charges in full are:

Failure to ensure their supporters refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour.
Failure to ensure their supporters refrained from racist behaviour.
Failure to ensure their supporters didn’t throw missiles, harmful or dangerous objects onto the pitch.
Failure to ensure their supporters didn’t enter the field of play.

Millwall's charges in full are:

Failure to ensure their supporters refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour.
Failure to ensure their supporters refrained from racist behaviour.
Failure to ensure their supporters didn’t throw missiles, harmful or dangerous objects onto the pitch.

The statement added: 'The FA has liaised closely with all relevant authorities including the Metropolitan police during the course of its investigations and has been in constant dialogue with both clubs during this time.'

Both clubs now have 14 days to respond to the charges, which could result in a range of sanctions for both - including hefty fines, orders to play matches behind closed doors, or even expulsion from future Carling Cup tournaments or league points deductions.