FIFA Warn West Ham With Threat of Direct Action As FA Pressured Into Harsh Sanctions

FIFA have warned the Football Association (FA) that they intend to intervene in punishing West Ham for the crowd trouble at London Stadium last week, if strong sanctions are not imposed.

A number of fans stormed onto the pitch during their 3-0 defeat to Burnley on Saturday in scenes which received widespread criticism - with similar incidents also happening in Lille and at PAOK over the weekend.

The crowd trouble in London hit international headlines and Spanish newspaper AS (via Sport Witness) have described FIFA attempts to strongman the FA as part of their attempts to declare a "war on the ultras."

West Ham have already confirmed that they will issue fans who were involved in Saturday's crowd trouble with lifetime bans and are currently conducting a thorough investigation into each incident.

However, the club could be hit with crippling punishment if FIFA decide to assert their authority - although just how football's governing body can impose sanctions, or what the extent of those sanctions are, is still unclear.

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It has been suggested that FIFA's desire to see West Ham punished as harshly as possible is in part due to the World Cup.

The tournament in Russia over the summer is just a few months away and with fears already high over the possibility of violence, FIFA want these latest sanctions to act as a deterrent for any fans attending the 2018 World Cup.