West Ham have asked the Premier League that they can play away on Boxing Day due to the chaos if they were to play at home.
This is due to the vast number of football fans attending and people going to Westfield Shopping Centre for post-Christmas sales would cause mayhem at Stratford Station.
The Hammers will play AFC Bournemouth away at the Vitality Stadium. On the annual Boxing Day fixture last season, West Ham’s first after their move from the Boleyn Ground to the London Stadium, Slaven Bilic’s men and fans were given a 460 mile round trip to Swansea City and back.
The Premier League confirmed that “West Ham have requested special dispensation to play away on Boxing Day.” (via Telegraph)
The fact that West Ham are unable to play on Boxing Day and will most likely look for away days on December 26th in future is very likely to anger fans further due to poor planning of moving stadia.
It is rare for a club to contact the Premier League to change a fixture in this manner, as they are usually for other major events nearby or due to shutdown of transport in the area.
There are other agreements with police forces such as the two clubs in Manchester, and the two clubs in Liverpool, are never home on the same day, which alters how the Premier League chooses fixture dates.
