Supporters group Hammers United have written to Brentford FC after a number of West Ham supporters attending last weekend's London derby at the G-Tech Stadium were asked to hand over their wallets for inspection prior to entry.
Stewards working on behalf of the west London club refused to allow some travelling fans into the stadium until they agreed to have their wallets inspected.And when asked to clarify why fans' personal affects were being inspected, stewards - many of whom were teenagers - informed the supporters they were searching for "drugs" and "other contraband".
However Brentford could now be in hot water after it was claimed the club's stewards had no authority to threaten to remove access to the stadium on the basis that fans refused to hand over personal effects.
"Following complaints received from a number of members we contacted the Football Supporters Association, who advised that they were aware of this issue at Brentford and that this is an issue which keeps cropping up," read a statement posted on KUMB by HU chairman Paul Colborne.
"They recommended we make an official complaint to Brentford FC - and we subsequently emailed to them this morning, 1 October. We will keep you informed of any developments."
In the missive to Brentford, HU queried the legality of their policy - which is not emulated by any other Premier League clubs. "There is nothing on the ticket, the noticeboards around the ground or the official website about searching wallets or as to why," they wrote.
"The people complaining here have attended thousands of football matches between them and have never been asked to hand over their wallets before except at Brentford FC. It is an exceptional and onerous term of contract and refusal of entry seems a breach given the lack of appropriate notice.
"Wallets include private items and searching them is an intimate search of personal data. Your entry requirements include ‘reasonable searches,’ but this is unreasonable. It is also a possible breach of the Data Protection Act as well as being far removed from what one would expect of a ‘community club’ - another low in the treatment of some fans."
Meanwhile a trainer of SIA (Security Industry Authority) licenced staff told KUMB that stewards should not be handling wallets or purses under any circumstances.
"Some security staff at football stadiums have SIA licences, the majority don't as stewards receive next to no training at all," he said.
"Security staff can ask to check customer's belongings as a condition of entry. We normally focus on bags in training but the same principles apply to wallets. However we emphasise that security should not physically touch anything in the bag or even have their hands directly over the bag.
"The reasons for keeping hands out of the way are to prevent accusations of stealing, to prevent accusations of planting illegal items and to prevent contamination of evidence.
"For hygiene reasons customers don't like personal items being handled. All of this would apply to wallets too/ so they [Brentford's stewards] definitely should not be handling the wallets at all."
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