King's Lynn and Worksop in dispute over 'fan attacks'

King's Lynn will host the FA Cup third qualifying round replay on Tuesday

King's Lynn Town are to increase stewarding numbers for their FA Cup replay against Worksop following what they say was "totally unacceptable" trouble at Saturday's game.

A number of Linnets supporters reported being attacked following the third qualifying round tie, which ended in a 1-1 draw, although Worksop have described it as a "minor disturbance".

The Norfolk club say there was no segregation at the ground and that travelling fans were also insulted by some of the Worksop players who went into the crowd to try and intervene.

"We have upped stewarding numbers for the replay, ensured adequate segregation and made the game all-ticket for Worksop fans," Linnets chairman Stephen Cleeve told BBC Sport.

"We will ensure a safe place for all fans to watch football at The Walks as this kind of behaviour at football matches should have died out decades ago."

But in a statement, Worksop accused King's Lynn fans of "turning ugly" and said: "As far as we were concerned there was a minor disturbance which was quelled by our security staff. We have had no reports of assaults or injury, nor any adverse reports from police or any other authority."

King's Lynn, who play in National League North, a level higher than Worksop in the English football pyramid, say a female supporter and children were among those attacked.

They say drink was sold to both sets of fans during Saturday's game but only two or three stewards were on duty at Worksop's Windsor Stadium.

"Safety is paramount at football matches and fans should never be put at risk," said Cleeve.

"There were not enough stewards present so Worksop players had to jump into the crowd to separate fans and some of those players insulted our fans with nasty comments which are not suitable in this day and age.

Stephen Cleeve has owned King's Lynn Town since 2016

"We understand that Worksop fans were exuberant, they had just equalised and were entitled to celebrate the moment, but there is a line that should not be crossed, and it was."

King's Lynn say that any Worksop supporters who try to get into the home end on Tuesday evening will be ejected from the ground without compensation - the winners will go through to an away tie against Curzon Ashton.

A club statement on Sunday said: "We appreciate that many Worksop fans behave in a decent and respectable manner and that the few have ruined it for the many.

"As a club, supporters' safety is paramount to King's Lynn Town FC and we will always ensure that we do everything in our power to ensure that fans attending our stadium can watch the game without any fear."

In response, Worksop said: "At Saturday’s match, there was no evidence of drunkenness or abuse of laws relating to alcohol purchase and consumption."

Their statement continued: "For 99 minutes of play, the match reflected the good-natured attention of the spectators and our fans took with good grace the King’s Lynn goal (against the run of play) which separated the sides until the final minute when we equalised to force a replay. Only then did the behaviour of King’s Lynn fans turn ugly."

The club also said that nine volunteer stewards and five other security staff were present at the game.

Worksop went as far as the third round of the FA Cup in 1955-56, but were knocked out by Swindon Town.

King's Lynn's best cup run took them to the second round proper in 2020-21 before losing to Portsmouth, and they did so again two seasons later but lost at home to Stevenage.