West Ham United fans are not happy after the fixture list confirmed they will be playing away from home yet again on Boxing Day.
The average football fan may not have blinked an eye when they saw West Ham had been handed an away game – against Southampton – on Boxing Day as the fixtures for the new Premier League season were announced on Thursday. But for many Hammers fans it is a big deal.
West Ham had to make a number of concessions when they made the controversial move to the London Stadium back in 2016.
Supporters are still far from happy with certain things at their new home and one particular bone of contention has been the fact that the club has played away on Boxing Day for the first two seasons in Stratford – and will do so again this year.
It is long held belief among a section of West Ham fans that the club have had to agree a secret deal with neighbouring Westfield Shopping Centre that it would not play home matches on a Boxing Day to avoid crowd chaos, as previously reported by Hammers fans site Claret & Hugh.
So when the East Londoners were handed another away day after Christmas it only fanned the flames. Whether it is the police, local authority or the club is requesting away games on Boxing Day – or just the luck of the draw – is unclear. But three away games on the trot on Boxing Day is a bit hard for some West Ham fans to take.
Here’s what some West Ham were saying on Twitter on learning of the news Thursday:
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