"Millwall and West Ham have hated each other since Queen Victoria sat on the British throne and Australia was still a collection of English colonies. Their clashes have taken violence in football to new level for more than a century as they transformed from dockworkers' brawls over strikes and betrayals to rival "firms" spilling blood on the streets."
"The two London clubs last met when West Ham prevailed 2-1 at Upton Park in a Championship match in 2012. The Hammers were promoted to the Premier League that season and the rivals from either side of the Thames River's old industrial area, 'The Isle Of Dogs', have not seen each other since. They have not even squared off at the London Stadium - the main stadium from the 2012 London Olympics which West Ham has called home for more than a decade."
"In 1976, Millwall fan Ian Pratt was killed among the fighting. He ended up falling under a train and the Millwall firm responded by handing out leaflets saying "A West Ham fan must die next week to avenge him". A decade later, 19-year-old West Ham fan Terry Burns was stabbed to death by a group of Millwall supporters."
"When they met in the 2009 League Cup, a Millwall fan was stabbed outside Upton Park before the game. There were several delays to the game as supporters invaded the pitch and 54 West Ham supporters were handed life bans as the club was hit with a £"
Millwall and West Ham have a long-standing rivalry rooted in London dockworker culture and later expressed through football “firms” and street fighting. The clubs last met in 2012, when West Ham won 2-1 at Upton Park in the Championship, followed by West Ham’s promotion to the Premier League. Since then, they have not met again, including not playing at the London Stadium. The rivalry is often remembered through films and stories about hooligan violence in the 1960s and 1970s, including deaths of supporters in 1976 and 1986. Encounters in later years still involved serious incidents, including a stabbing before a 2009 League Cup match and pitch invasions that led to life bans for 54 West Ham supporters.
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