'Racist abuse' sparked West Ham brawl
West Ham striker
Demba Ba has denied refusing to sign an autograph for a fan in an incident that reportedly sparked a brawl at their end-of-season dinner.
It had been claimed that the Senegal forward snubbed a supporter who had attended the £275-a-head function, leading to violent scenes that resulted in the police being called to the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
"I did sign the autograph," Ba - who scored twice in a 3-2 defeat at Wigan that ultimately resulted in the club’s relegation - said on Twitter.
"I never refuse to sign autograph to the fans."
West Ham have since insisted that the scale of the row was exaggerated, with co-owner David Sullivan claiming that the incident revolved around a drunken supporter racially abusing a player, believed to be Ba.
While Ba did not comment on the nature of the alleged abuse, he did say that a man approached him in an aggressive manner.
"He came to me saying he is tired to watch us play and was looking for confrontation," the 25-year-old former Hoffenheim forward added.
The dinner came at a traumatic time for the club, a day after the East Londoners were relegated to the Championship.
Within hours coach
Avram Grant was sacked, but the planned dinner - to which players, executives and fans were invited - went ahead anyway.
"The whole incident has been blown out of all proportion," Sullivan said. "It was one individual who had too much to drink, sadly a problem in British society.
"A player was racially abused by the same drunken supporter, which is not acceptable. Sadly one drunken supporter let the club down."
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "We were called at 9.15pm to reports of a disturbance at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane. Officers attended. There were no offences alleged and no arrests."
