Crystal Palace allocation of 4,000 for Brighton FA Cup tie subject to approval from safety group

Fears of crowd trouble mean Brighton will hold talks with Sussex police before any decision is taken on how many tickets Crystal Palace will receive for their FA Cup tie.

Disorder at the Amex Stadium last week overshadowed the first Premier League meeting between the two clubs, who were last night drawn together in the third round.

FA Cup rules allow for an away allocation of up to 15 per cent of the home stadium — which would be more than 4,000 tickets. But that number is subject to approval from the local Safety Advisory Group.

A group of more than 100 Crystal Palace fans with tickets to November's League meeting were unable to gain entry to the ground after two stewards were injured at the stadium.

“We would like to apologise to all the innocent supporters who arrived at the stadium with tickets but were denied entry and to the two stewards who were injured at the ground. We wish them a full and speedy recovery," a Palace statment said after the game.

"The police took the decision to close the turnstiles six minutes into the match because the incident had caused a safety problem."