King’s Lynn Town are to increase stewarding numbers for their FA Cup replay against Worksop following the trouble at Saturday’s game.
A number of supporters were attacked following the third qualifying round tie, which ended in a 1-1 draw, although Worksop have described it as a “minor disturbance”.
King’s Lynn pay for extra stewards
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.
“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.”
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, football 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.”
How did Worksop FC respond?
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.