FANS who soured West Ham United’s farewell to the Boleyn Ground by attacking Manchester United’s team bus with bottles will be banned for life, the club said Wednesday.

    What was supposed to be a memorable climax to the club’s 112 years at the stadium in east London turned ugly before kickoff Tuesday, and newspaper back pages were dominated by images of United’s coach with its windows shattered.

    Video footage filmed inside the coach by United players went viral on social media, while TV footage of the violence was shown around the world.

    West Ham’s co-chairman David Sullivan and vice chairman Karren Brady condemned those who marred a historic night and apologized to United’s players and staff. “Sadly, the actions of very small minority of people outside the ground prior to kickoff risks overshadowing those celebrations,” Sullivan told West Ham’s website.

    “I want to be clear — their behavior was completely unacceptable.”

    Speaking to Sky Sports on Tuesday, Sullivan had initially seemed unaware of the seriousness of the incidents and blamed United for causing a 45-minute delay to the game.

    Brady said the vast majority of fans had attended Tuesday’s final game “to respectfully say farewell to Boleyn.”

    “Those who chose to behave unacceptably will be dealt with in the strongest way possible, with life bans for those guilty of violence,” she added.(SD-Agencies)