Ray ☺️ ✨

If you don’t know what’s happening here, it’s Millwall v West Ham tomorrow. Let me do a quick summary on why the police are going to be on their toes tomorrow. The fixture is one of the fiercest games in English football. It’s an historical rival of pure, undiluted hate. If you have ever worked in the stadium before as an SIA or a Steward, this is an example of a match they classify as HIGH RISK. The Dockers Derby. This is not just a mere derby. It’s a game of hatred😭. The hate has existed for over a century. It didn’t start with football but just workers who worked at the docks. The crazy thing about this fixture is that these two clubs seldom meet themselves, which makes it very fierce, it’s like a rare time to channel that century of hate. By the way, they’ve only shared 13 seasons together because they’re both usually in different divisions. Millwall was founded by workers who worked at JT Morton, they supplied ships, and worked at the docks, while West Ham were founded later on by workers who were iron and ship builders, who built bridges, and the likes (West Ham nickname - The Irons). They also worked at the docks, hence, the Dockers Derby. The rivalry started because they were both competing in the same market/shipyards. This quickly escalated into football games. Both teams or set of workers hated themselves even more when there was a strike by ship workers in the early 20th century, West Ham fans/ship workers also joined the strike, but the Millwall guys didn’t join. This caused more hate and division. Both clubs have moved from their original sites, but the derby name from the founding fathers still sticks, THE DOCKERS DERBY. The met police already anticipate troubles. I’m sure the number of police in London tomorrow will be crazy. In 1976, a Millwall supporter died in this fixture. In a cup game in 2009 at Upton Park, there were stabbings and pitch invasions many times in that game, which is still classified as one of the most disgraceful games in English football. Don’t forget that Millwall fans are known as the worst fans in England, they call them hooligans, but I think the new-generation fans are changing that narrative, but still embracing their history. I have attached few links to some videos in the comments, this is for those who just want to spend about an hour plus in learning new things about such fierce rivalry in England. I know many people don’t know much about it because they don’t play against each other often, but trust me, the hatred never changed.