Ex-ICF leader warns Millwall vs West Ham is too dangerous for away fans

Cass Pennant, a former leader of West Ham’s Inter City Firm hooligan gang, has warned that Saturday’s Championship fixture between Millwall and West Ham at The Den is too dangerous to safely accommodate away supporters — the first time the clubs have met since 2012.

West Ham, currently top of the Championship, travel to south London for a derby that carries a weight of violence stretching back decades. Pennant, who wrote about the fixture in his 2022 book You’re Going Home in a F*ing Ambulance: Hooligan Wars – The Inside Story, was unequivocal in his assessment.

“Final word on these two teams and their supporters is simply that they should NEVER meet, and the only way you can solve that is to ban away fans,” Pennant wrote. “There is a fierce rivalry that is beyond the rivalry of most football derbies.”

He acknowledged that both clubs’ fan bases have changed in recent years but cautioned that the underlying tension has never fully dissolved. “Football can only hope whenever there is another cup draw or a promotion/relegation that has them in the same league or in a cup competition these two clubs aren’t drawn out of the hat together,” he added, “because for some there will always be scores to settle.”

The history underpinning those concerns is grim. In 1976, Millwall supporter Ian Pratt died after falling under a train following a clash with West Ham fans at New Cross station. In the aftermath, leaflets distributed at The Den carried a photograph of Pratt alongside the words: “A West Ham fan must die next week to avenge him.” Years later, 19-year-old West Ham fan Terry Burns was stabbed to death by suspected Millwall supporters.

More recently, a 2009 Carabao Cup tie between the sides saw a 44-year-old Millwall fan stabbed in the chest near Upton Park, three pitch invasions during the match itself, and former Hammers goalkeeper Rob Green later recalling “venomous hatred” and saying: “Nothing about that game felt safe.”

Rooted in London’s East End — a rivalry once dubbed the ‘Dockers derby’ before Millwall relocated south of the river — the fixture intensified through the 1970s and 80s as hooliganism peaked across English football. The ICF and Millwall’s Bushwackers became two of the most feared firms in the country, and their clashes left a legacy that still shapes how the fixture is policed and perceived today.