Over five years on from the infamous protest at the London Stadium, we look at the West Ham fan who invaded the pitch and took the corner flag during a damaging defeat to Burnley
It’s safe to say the mood at West Ham has improved since their damaging stuffing at home at the hands of Burnley in 2018.
Tensions in the stands boiled over as the Hammers took on the Clarets, and it became one of the most chaotic football matches ever seen in the Premier League. Once Chris Wood scored the second goal of a 3-0 away victory in east London, a huge protest saw West Ham supporters invade the pitch and cause absolute bedlam.
There were fans arguing with players, chants of “sack the board”, and the unpleasant sight of Burnley substitutes and staff ushering children into their dugout to escape the chaos in the stands. But the most memorable sight of that afternoon was Hammers supporter Paul Colborne running onto the field, picking up a corner flag and planting it into the centre of the pitch. As the Hammers take on Burnley for the first time this season, Daily Star Sport looks back at that day in the capital.
In an interview with the Daily Mail soon after the protest, Colborne said: “I have been going to see West Ham home and away for 49 years and have seen more than 2,000 games.
“I hadn’t planned anything, but I just felt I had to do something. You have to stand up for what you believe in. People have died and been put against a wall for what they believe in.”
He also added: “I had to do something. I wasn’t being violent, but I couldn’t take it anymore when Burnley went 2-0 up.
“I got out of my seat in the Bobby Moore stand and climbed over the fence, got the flag and walked towards the centre circle.”
Having won the Europa Conference League and established themselves as one of the biggest teams outside the so called ‘Big Six,’ the mood at the London Stadium is a lot rosier. Burnley, meanwhile, are currently rooted to the bottom of the table, having only picked up four points from the first 12 matches of the campaign.
West Ham are in ninth position and are top of their Europa League group, while a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Liverpool at Anfield also awaits David Moyes’ men in December.
