Hammers Go Down Fighting

Relegation from English soccer’s Premiership may cost the club owners £40 million and cast doubts on whether its future tenancy of London’s Olympic Stadium is financially sustainable, but it can’t be said that West Ham United went down without a fight.

Police were called to the club’s £275-a-ticket end of season party at London’s Grosvenor Hotel May 16 when a squabble broke out between players and fans.

An eyewitness told The Sun that during the course of the meal a fan asked striker Demba Ba for his autograph. Apparently the player refused, resulting in mayhem.

One fan allegedly kung-fu kicked a vintage vase and players escaped through the hotel’s back entrances.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that officers had been called to a disturbance at the Grosvenor but said no arrests were made.

West Ham’s departure from the Premiership was confirmed by the 3-2 defeat against Wigan Athletic May 15.

North London rival Tottenham Hotspur, which also put in a bid for the Olympic venue, has asked for a judicial review of the government’s decision to award it to West Ham.