MIDDLESBROUGH supporters have urged the footballing authorities to urgently address the policing issues surrounding West Ham’s London Stadium to ensure there is no repeat of the ugly scenes that blighted Saturday’s 1-1 draw.

Boro fans claim to have been attacked inside and outside the stadium, with the Metropolitan Police confirming three people were arrested as trouble flared.

It is alleged that bottles and coins were thrown into the away end after Dimitri Payet scored West Ham’s second-half equaliser, with further violence exploding in the streets surrounding the stadium after the final whistle.

A group of West Ham supporters broke through a line of stewards that was meant to be separating the two sets of fans, and footage emerged on social media showing Boro fans being attacked as they attempted to get back to their official supporters’ coaches.

Eye-witnesses have been especially critical of the lack of police officers at the game, an issue that remains unresolved despite having been flagged up on a number of occasions this season.

West Ham have been pushing for an increased police presence in the ground, but the financial cost would have to be met by the stadium operators, E20, rather than the club under the terms of the deal that led to the Hammers becoming the anchor tenants of the former Olympic venue.

The Metropolitan Police have claimed it is currently impossible to ramp up policing because the London Stadium does not have the required radio system that would allow special policing services to be put in place.

“It’s incredible that in this day and age, a Premier League match can take place in an environment like that,” said Rob Nicholls, the editor of influential Middlesbrough fanzine Fly Me To The Moon, who was in the away end on Saturday. “I just don’t understand how West Ham have got a licence to play games there when they’re not being policed properly.

“It was absolute chaos after the game. No one seemed to know what was happening, some police were there one minute and then they disappeared, and the result was total carnage.

“There was talk before the game that the systems that were in place weren’t good enough, but I didn’t expect to see the kind of things that were happening as the Boro fans tried to get back to their buses. You had women and children watching on terrified as people were attacked.

“Something has to change, and it’s time for the authorities to step in to get it sorted. West Ham play Chelsea in the (EFL) Cup next month, I shudder to think what might happen there.”

West Ham issued a statement in the wake of the violence, which followed previous disorder in this season’s home games with Bournemouth and Watford.

The statement said: “This behaviour has no place in football and West Ham United, with cooperation from all London Stadium stakeholders, including the police, Stadium Landlords E20 and Stadium Operators LS185, will continue to operate a zero-tolerance policy on such incidents.

“We must stress that the vast majority of the more than 400,000 supporters who have attended a game at the Stadium since August have behaved impeccably, and we will not let the acts of mindless individuals tarnish their reputation.”

Middlesbrough officials have been in contact with a number of supporters who were present at Saturday’s game, with the club understandably unhappy at the way in which some fans were targeted and attacked.

A Boro statement said: “We were disappointed to hear of the allegations made surrounding events during and after the game at West Ham. As a club, we will support and cooperate fully with any subsequent investigation.”

On the pitch, Cristhian Stuani headed Boro into a second-half lead, with Payet equalising to leave the Teessiders in 16th position heading into the international break.

“The main thing for me was to recover the confidence,” said Boro head coach Aitor Karanka. “I could feel in the changing room after the game, it was completely different than it was against Everton or Tottenham.”