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To the victor go the spoils, and apparently all the crass behaviour that is widely associated with Millwall supporters too.
The Lions fans have always been known for retreating to the neanderthal era and showed yesterday that as a club on and off the pitch they still belong in the ‘80s when this was commonplace.
To Millwall’s credit, manager Neil Harris came with a plan and his players executed to perfection while Marco Silva’s Everton side showed they were a bunch of spoiled and overpaid brats who had forgotten how to play football when the rain was pouring down and faced with a physical challenge.
The Millwall fans had already threatened violence to Everton’s traveling supporters on Twitter ahead of the FA Cup game, and ugly scenes ensued all over East London for the late afternoon fixture.
Everton with a huge turnout at Millwall pub #pave pic.twitter.com/7hGZcELksU
— The Casuals Warehouse (@thecasualshouse) January 26, 2019
@news_pave Millwall on the right,Everton on the left. pic.twitter.com/qB5kyXmRRI
— Jason Cartmell (@CartmellJason) January 26, 2019
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as harmless as the spats between the Jets and Sharks in Westside Story, as one unfortunate Blue was to find out.
Look at this scummy Millwall fan stab an Everton fan in the face. Disgusting.
— EvertonBlues (@EvertonBlues_) January 26, 2019
RT this to raise awareness and shame this horrible bastard! pic.twitter.com/dIVwDpE3eU
The Blue who got stabbed was in pretty bad shape immediately after the incident, but received immediate medical attention.
— EvertonBlues (@EvertonBlues_) January 27, 2019
Unfortunately it didn’t end there though, with the hatred flowing right throughout the game as well, devolving into racist and bigoted chanting that really has no place in the game today.
Millwall fans singing ‘I would rather be a p*** than a scouse’ to Everton fans is just fully vile. Trampy club. #Mileve #facup #millwalleverton pic.twitter.com/Hkz8UZX1la
— ANWAR (@AnwarEllis) January 26, 2019
Millwall fans ‘taunting’ (I’m not even sure if that’s the right word) an Everton coach with the chant ‘you’re fucking owned by a Muslim.’
— James Corbett (@james_corbett) January 26, 2019
Let’s see if @FA take some action pic.twitter.com/Pw94YjJ9CA
As soon as these videos went viral on the internet, the Championship club had to take immediate action, even if it was purely for show, and Millwall released the following statement:
Millwall Football Club is aware of, and extremely disappointed by, a video circulating online displaying alleged racist chanting during Saturday’s victory over Everton.
The club will, as is commonplace following such incidents, work with all relevant authorities during investigations into the matter and look to identify individuals involved. Anyone identified and guilty of such abuse will be banned from The Den for life.
Ironically enough, when Millwall were named the family club of the year for 2017, there was some light at the end of the tunnel that they had finally shed their negative image but yesterday unfortunately showed that the club still has a long way to go to join this century, let alone this decade.
Don’t think it would be too harsh to throw Millwall out of the FA Cup off the back of those racist chants. If your theory is it’s just “one or two/ a small group of idiots” to blame then you’re wrong. Why punish everyone because of them? Because it needs stamping out, that’s why.
— David Preece (@davidpreece12) January 27, 2019
While it is very unlikely that the club will face any punishment from the Football Association, a stern ruling from the game’s governing body in the nation would go a long way towards eliminating this kind of nonsense in the future.