FA Cup tie delayed by protest plane and goal malfunctions | Football | Sport

West Ham’s FA Cup clash with Burton Albion was delayed for four minutes because of a malfunction with the net. It came amid a chaotic start to proceedings at the Pirelli Stadium, as the West Ham fans were protesting their current ownership group. 

A plane with a banner reading: «[David] Sullivan and [Karen] Brady out» was seen flying over the stadium ahead of kick-off, while the travelling fans packed in behind one of the goals were making their voices heard. Some fans were also seen holding another banner that read: «Time 2 sell, name your price. BS out.»

While this was going on, the referee and his assistant, along with a stadium official, were seen tending to the net in the goal. A hole had appeared, which needed repairing before kick-off could take place, leading to a hefty wait for the players on the pitch.

In keeping with the theme of the day, West Ham started sluggishly, with League One Burton looking the better of the two teams. A flashed ball across the box was almost turned into the Hammers’ net, now repaired by a West Ham defender, while the home side had a half-hearted penalty shout waved off.

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It comes amid an ongoing battle between the West Ham fans and their board, with supporters having previously passed a vote of no confidence in the hierarchy. A statement from the Fan Advisory Board in December read: «As the members of the various supporter groups and the wider West Ham fanbase will be aware it’s now four months since the FAB announced a Vote of No Confidence ( VONC) in the Club’s leadership. This was swiftly followed by a specifically prepared set of questions at the Club’s request designed to help them provide suitable answers around the Club’s governance, plans and ambitions, and general environment.

«As you will see from the detailed analysis in the attached document, bar good progress on the Culture & Heritage issue, the Club has failed to provide adequate responses to any other questions. When the FAB declared the VONC, we expressed concerns around the forthcoming season, we were told we were overreacting to initial results, and the Club issued a 1300 word statement revelling in what they saw as success, and promising a bright future led by Graham Potter. Two weeks later that self-indulgent nonsense was rendered totally irrelevant.

|We are now approaching the new year mired in a relegation battle, on our fourth manager in 18 months, and seeing leaks from the usual sources that the forthcoming accounts will show a £100m loss. The common view is one of a Club currently in crisis, mired in the relegation spots, a revolving door destination for managers and about to confirm a disastrous set of financial results. We are less than three years on from a European triumph, three years of UEFA cash, the Declan Rice transfer money, and of course shortly before that the massive Kretinsky derived capital injection. This is not a good position for our Club to find itself in. We believe in facing the facts and understanding what can be done to improve things for all supporters and custodians alike. Comparisons with the 2003 “ sleepwalk to relegation” are becoming far too frequent for comfort.»