A number of visiting Palace fans were denied entry to the ground despite having legitimate tickets with their hand-written names for the clubs’ first top-flight collision since 1981, after trouble broke out at around 7.48pm. A statement issued by Brighton suggested “a number of Crystal Palace fans had travelled to the stadium without tickets, arriving after kick-off, some with the aim of forcing entry into the away end”. That left a group of around 150 fans, some with tickets, being escorted back to Falmer station and on to Brighton, with “several stewards” suffering minor injuries. “We hope the two stewards hospitalised in the disorder have not suffered serious injuries,” said the Albion chief executive, Paul Barber. “The disorder was caused by a minority of individuals who attempted to gain entry to the stadium without tickets.

Source: The Guardian November 28, 2017 21:52 UTC