CRYSTAL PALACE fans were surrounded by a ring of police as they made their way to the FA Cup clash with Brighton.
After trouble flared when the rivals met in the league in November, cops did everything they could to make sure there were no further incidents.
The M23 derby passed without incident as the Seagulls struck late to secure a 2-1 win and a trip to Middlesbrough in the fourth round.
In their last meeting, hundreds of supporters were blocked from entering Brighton’s Amex Stadium despite holding match tickets.
There were various unconfirmed reports on Twitter claiming the turnstiles were closed after a number of ticketless fans bundled through the turnstiles and into the stadium.
Fans travelling to Hove had to carry ID as well as their match ticket and even some of them were refused entry into the new ground.
Some of the Eagles fans that did manage to get into the ground caused a scene by sparking a giant red flare.
But there were no major incidents in either of the games in good news for the Beautiful Game.
MUR THE MERRIER Brighton 2 Crystal Palace 1: Glenn Murray flick sends Seagulls into FA Cup fourth round after super Bakary Sako strike
In tonight’s clash – featuring VAR’s debut – Crystal Palace players appealed long and hard that Glenn Murray’s 88th-minute winner had been finished off with his arm.
But with replays appearing inconclusive, on-field ref Andre Marriner upheld his decision with the video official Neil Swarbrick, holed up in a TV studio near Heathrow, presumably deciding that replays were inconclusive.
Leave a comment