POSTPONED PALACE PERPLEXED

CRYSTAL PALACE have been left baffled by the fact that today’s game at Brighton will not take place even though the rail strike which led to the original postponement was cancelled following the death of the Queen.

The club had initially assumed that the fixture would go ahead after the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) called off industrial action planned for this weekend, but were subsequently told that Sussex Police lack the resources to maintain order at the Amex Stadium.

Palace have an uncomfortable history with Sussex Police, who in 2017 were forced into an embarrassing climbdown when they apologised for making false claims about the club’s fans attempting to force entry into Brighton’s ground armed with ‘knives and knuckledusters’.

The request for the original postponement was made by Brighton, whose case was accepted by the Premier League Board despite the fact that the rail strike was due to take place the day before the game. Brighton had argued that fans would struggle to travel to the match due to the limited rail service on offer caused by trains being in the wrong location after the strike.