FA Cup: Disappointed Spurs fans offered free Marine ticket

Only home fans will be able to see Marine FC face Spurs in January

Tottenham Hotspur's travelling supporters, who have to miss the club's FA Cup tie with Marine FC because of Covid-19 rules, have been offered a free ticket to see the non-league side.

Spurs fans will not be allowed in when the sides meet in Crosby in January.

To make up for it, the Mariners have offered season ticket holders the chance to visit the Marine Travel Arena for free next season instead.

The club said the offer followed "an incredibly tough year" for football.

The Merseyside team, who play in the Northern Premier League North West Division, the eighth tier of English football, will face the Premier League leaders on 10 January, having booked their place in the third round by beating Havant & Waterlooville in November.

The gap between the two teams is the biggest in the competition's history.

In a statement, the club said Marine had had "a once-in-a-lifetime" FA Cup run, but their own fans had missed out on enjoying those games because of coronavirus restrictions, which had been "devastating for the supporters... and has also severely affected the revenues we would have otherwise received".

It said Spurs fans had similarly "missed their team's rise to top of the Premier League".

"As a result of this, Marine Football Club announce that they will allow entry next season free of charge to one Marine league game to all Spurs season-ticket holders," the statement added.

"This will allow Spurs fans to have the chance to attend the ground having missed out this time and will strengthen that bond between the clubs."

The announcement was met by praise from Spurs fans on social media, including some from journalist Leon Watson, who said the Merseyside club had found themselves "a ton of new supporters down south".

The tie at the Marine Travel Arena will be televised live by the BBC.