Brighton have postponed their clash with fierce rivals Crystal Palace because of a train strike.
Police and other members of the local Safety Advisory Group urged them to call the game off on Saturday September 17 and they got permission from the Premier League. But it has caused a backlash from fans of rival clubs as Liverpool ’s FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City went ahead last season despite no direct trains to London while England’s game with Germany at Wembley on September 26 is also going ahead despite a strike.
Liverpool fan Jim Boardman tweeted: “Northern teams’ fans can’t get to Wembley for semis or finals by train due to strikes, engineering work or weekend timetables - fans told nothing can be done, find another way.” Newcastle supporters were also made to do a 700-mile round trip while Palace’s ground is just 41 miles away. It is a highly unusual step with the last postponement because of a Tube strike 10 years ago.
But Brighton were able to postpone the game because of safety concerns and the rivalry with Palace amid fears about getting away fans in and out of the Amex safely. Brighton did explore other travel options - including coaches - but it was impossible to bus thousands of fans in and out.
They also looked at playing it on a different day that weekend but because there is a strike on the Thursday and the Saturday, train bosses could not guarantee a reliable service for the 24 hours after each strike. But now the worry is when the game will be played because of the already crowded fixture list in a unique World Cup year.
Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said: “While we fully appreciate this will be of huge disappointment to both sets of fans, and causes disruption to both teams' fixture schedules as well as those of supporters, the safety of fans of both clubs, our matchday staff, players and officials must be the priority.
"We have taken into consideration how difficult it would be for fans of both clubs to attend the match without access to the rail network and we looked at a number of options and various contingency plans.
“This included additional travel options or moving the match to earlier or later in the same week, with Sunday afternoon the latest the fixture could be played on that weekend due to the international break, but it simply was not possible to play the match with a full capacity crowd in attendance.
"We apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused fans of both teams, but we feel that the right decision has been reached. We would also like to thank Crystal Palace, the Premier League and the authorities for their support in this matter.”
Brighton have told all fans to retain tickets for the rearranged game and will offer refunds for those who cannot attend.
