Crystal Palace vs Brighton: Why are the Eagles and the Seagulls rivals?

Despite the Premier League points on offer it is the bragging rights that will be most keenly contested at Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace host Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday in one of the fiercest and more peculiar rivalries in football.

Despite the Premier League points on offer it is the bragging rights - asked recently to put his hatred for Brighton on a scale of 1-10 Wilfried Zaha replied: "11" - that will be most keenly contested at Selhurst Park.

But why such a rivalry? The two clubs aren't geographically close - 40 miles down the A23 to be exact - and haven't been in the same division that often over the last 40 years.

The answer comes from 90 minutes on December 6 1976.

Alan Mullery and Terry Venables had been teammates at Tottenham and landed their first jobs in management within weeks of one another at the start of the 1976-77 season at Brighton and Palace respectively.

The two were drawn against each other in the FA Cup and after the first two games at Selhurst Park and the Goldstone Ground finished level, Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge was chosen as the venue for the second replay with Palace eventually booking their place in the next round courtesy of a goal from Paul Holder.

However, it was Mullery’s reaction to two decisions by referee Ron Challis – subsequently rechristened “Challis of the Palace” by Brighton fans – which sealed the mutual hatred that exists to this day.

Having approached Challis after the game to remonstrate, Mullery was making his way down the tunnel when he claims to have had boiling coffee thrown over him by a supporter.

He reacted by taking some change out of his pocket and hurling it on the ground, shouting “You’re not worth that, Palace” and flashing a V sign. His actions earned the former England midfielder a £100 fine and a lifetime of notoriety in south London.

Mullery remains public enemy number one among Palace fans to this day, having fanned the flames of hatred only to later take over for an unhappy spell at Selhurst Park in the early 1980s. He would return to manage Brighton but this was a rivalry that would then see just four renewals in over 20 years from 1990 after Albion ran into financial problems and slipped down the league pyramid.

Palace and Brighton have enjoyed some famous games down the years (Getty Images)

Tony Bloom, the club’s owner since 2009, has been the major catalyst in Albion’s rise to the Premier League and with him came the Amex Stadium, a state-of-the-art complex that not only re-homed the club but saved them.

With their resurgence came a renewal of the rivalry that had lain dormant and continues to this day.