Crystal Palace Seek Increased Security For Volatile Meeting With Nottingham Forest

Crystal Palace are successful talks pinch Nottingham Forest, and nan Metropolitan police, complete nan proviso of accrued information for Sunday’s Premier League crippled betwixt nan teams astatine Selhurst Park.

Palace supporters are understood to beryllium readying a protestation astatine nan fixture complete Forest’s perceived domiciled successful getting them demoted to nan Conference League, pinch Nuno Espírito Santo’s broadside replacing Palace successful nan Europa League aft they were recovered by Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body [CFCB] to person surgery multi-club ownership rules owed to their erstwhile shareholder John Textor’s ownership of nan French nine Lyon, who besides qualified for nan second competition. Forest wrote to Uefa pinch their observations astir nan alleged breach and sent their ineligible squad to be Palace’s entreaty proceeding astatine nan tribunal of arbitration for sport, which upheld nan CFCB’s determination past week.

The Palace chairman, Steve Parish, said successful an question and reply pinch Gary Lineker’s Rest is Football podcast past period that Forest had played a cardinal domiciled successful nan determination to prohibition them. “We were told that and I deliberation it’s been made public,” Parish said. “There doesn’t look to beryllium a batch of confidentiality that comes retired of definite organisations. But we’re led to judge that’s nan rumor – if location wasn’t personification that wanted to get successful arsenic a consequence, past location wouldn’t beryllium a problem. People person sewage to look astatine themselves. Some group will opportunity it’s fine, immoderate group will opportunity it’s not. I don’t really person power of that. I only person power of nan arguments that we put guardant to Uefa.”

Palace fans person rallied down Parish’s consciousness of injustice and are readying to make their feelings known astatine Sunday’s game, which would ordinarily by categorised arsenic a low-risk fixture by nan Met. While specifications of nan protestation person yet to beryllium confirmed, location person been suggestions that protesters scheme to get early astatine Selhurst Park and target nan visitors’ squad coach, which whitethorn require further protection from constabulary and stewards.

Steve Parish, nan Palace chairman, has said Forest played a cardinal domiciled successful his club’s punishment. Photograph: Matt Impey/Shutterstock

Hundreds of Palace supporters marched to Selhurst Park successful protest aft nan first determination to prohibition them from nan Europa League past month, which nan supporters’ group nan Holmesdale Fanatics described arsenic “a unspeakable injustice for some our nine and nan crippled of shot arsenic a whole”. More fans are apt to protestation earlier what is Palace’s first location crippled of nan season, peculiarly fixed nan personality of their opponents.

Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, is apt to beryllium a target of maltreatment if nan Greek billionaire decides to be nan game. Marinakis goes to astir of Forest’s games successful London and will beryllium free to make his measurement to southbound London fixed his Greek club, Olympiakos, statesman their play pinch a location crippled against Asteras Tripolis connected Saturday evening.

Marinakis will person his ain information item pinch him astatine Selhurst Park if he does attend, arsenic is modular practice, while Forest’s information and information squad are progressive successful ongoing discussions pinch their counterparts astatine Palace to measure nan level of risk. Despite nan ill-feeling betwixt nan clubs, Palace person made it clear that Marinakis will beryllium invited successful nan boardroom.

A Met spokesperson told nan Guardian: “Officers will beryllium successful attendance astatine nan upcoming Crystal Palace-Nottingham Forest game. Our privilege is keeping fans and nan wider nationalist safe, and we will proceed to show nan business for developments.”