West Ham fans were forced to sit on concrete steps during the Premier League opener against Bournemouth at the London Stadium, and West Ham’s FIFA star Sean “Dragonn” Allen involved in gambling scam row.
The first time I visited Old Trafford was to watch Manchester United v Tottenham in the 1980s. I got separated from my uncle in the Stretford End, never a good thing in a stadium filled with 60,000 fans, and the only place I could watch the match was sitting on the concrete steps in the aisle. The steward kept moving me because I was a fire hazard. It wasn’t a very memorable experience.
West Ham’s vice-chairman, Karren Brady, apologised to the 56 fans affected by the cock-up and promised to provide them with a full refund. The Stadium caretakers London Stadium 185 said the mistake was an ‘error in administration’ and pledged to have all seats installed in time for West Ham’s Europa League encounter with the Romanian club FC Astra Giurgiu on Thursday night.
Sunday’s 1-0 win over Bournemouth was also marred by violent clashes outside the ground. Bournemouth and West Ham fans were filmed fighting outside the stadium with children trying to get out of the crosshairs. Michail Antonio was the hero heading the winning goal five minutes from time. A week earlier he was the villain, giving away a penalty in their 1-2 loss to Chelsea. Antonio was substituted minutes later and didn’t look at his boss as he marched straight down the tunnel.
In other West Ham news, Sky Sports has revealed that Slaven Bilic’s side are the favourites to secure the signature of Wilfried Bony. The 27-year Ivorian left Swansea to join Man City in a £28m deal in Jan 2015 but hasn’t had a kick.
Europa League Winning Odds (Courtesy of Bodog)
Man Utd +600
ACF Fiorentina +1600
Athletico Bilbao +1600
Inter Baku – +1600
Zenit St Petersburg – +1600
West Ham +3300
West Ham FIFA Star in Gambling Bet Row
From the physical pitch to the virtual one and EASports FIFA franchise star Sean “Dragonn” Allen has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons after allegations that he failed to pay a £100 gambling bet surfaced on social media.
Allen became the first FIFA player to be signed by a Premier League club when West Ham took him on board and gave him the #50 squad number in the spring.
The strength of that relationship will be sorely tested after a Dutch FIFA player called Dani Hagebeuk posted Facebook scripts between the pair showing Allen turning into a mute after losing a cash game against Hagebeuk by two games to one at the cost of £100.
The Facebook Messenger script shows Hagebeuk asking Allen if he wants to continue playing for £50 per game after the 2-1 victory, but meets with nothing but silence. Hagebeuk then gives Allen 12-hours to pay via PayPal before going public, and once again Allen failed to respond.
Allen earned his claret and blue colours after finishing second in the 2016 FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) held in New York. Allen faced the Danish player Mohamed Al-Bacha in the two-legged final. The pair drew 2-2 in the first leg, and Al-Bacha scored two late goals to come back from a 3-1 deficit to take the title on away goals. Over two million players competed in the event.
It transpires that Hagebeuk is a good friend of Al-Bacha who helped to stick the knife deeper into Allen before eventually informing his 4,381 Twitter followers that the pair had kissed and made up.
Sean Allen blocking his fans because they are disappointed in him. Very “professional” dude.
— Mohamad Al-Bacha (@mobacha_) August 22, 2016
BREAKING – @Dragonn_WHUFC messaged me and wanted to sort it out. It went to far now and we want to cool it down. It’s good now and thanks. — Mohamad Al-Bacha (@mobacha_) August 22, 2016
