Crystal Palace vs Brighton: History of the Rivalry

Crystal Palace vs Brighton is one of English football’s most intense and unusual rivalries, born not from geography or trophies but from a series of bad-tempered clashes in the 1970s. Known as the M23 Derby, it now ranks among the Premier League’s fiercest modern derbies despite the clubs being nearly 40 miles apart.​

Origins of the M23 Derby

Although Palace and Brighton first met in 1920, matches between them were largely routine for decades. The rivalry only erupted in the mid‑1970s when both were ambitious, upwardly mobile clubs fighting for promotion out of the old Third Division. With Terry Venables managing Palace and Alan Mullery in charge at Brighton – former Spurs team-mates who reportedly never got on – tension quickly escalated on and off the pitch.​

The Explosive 1976–77 Season

The 1976–77 campaign is widely seen as the true birth of the hatred. Palace and Brighton met five times that season, including a notorious FA Cup first-round tie that required two replays and featured controversial refereeing decisions. In the decisive Stamford Bridge replay, Palace led 1-0 when Brighton captain Brian Horton saw a penalty retaken for encroachment; goalkeeper Paul Hammond saved the second attempt, Palace went through, and Brighton felt robbed. Soon after, Palace pipped Brighton to promotion by one point, despite Albion having spent more heavily, deepening resentment.​

Mullery’s infamous post-match meltdown at Selhurst Park, reportedly throwing coins on the floor and making crude gestures towards Palace fans while shouting that they were “not worth that,” became a founding myth of the derby. What began as managerial needle had now turned into full-scale animosity between fanbases.​

Key Flashpoints and Memorable Games

Over the years a series of flashpoints cemented the rivalry:

• In the late 1970s and early 1980s, both clubs chased promotion and regularly met in front of large, febrile crowds, with heavy drinking and fighting reported at games like the one at Brighton’s Goldstone Ground.​
• Palace became the first team to beat Brighton at their new Amex Stadium in September 2011, winning 3-1 after a last‑minute Glenn Murray goal – painful for Albion, as Murray had left them to join Palace that summer.​
• The 2012–13 Championship play-off semi-final added a new chapter: after a 0-0 first leg at Selhurst, Wilfried Zaha scored twice in the second leg at the Amex to send Palace to Wembley with a 2-0 aggregate win.​

More recently, the rivalry has been marked by late drama. Between 2020 and 2023 four consecutive Premier League derbies were decided by goals after the 87th minute, including last‑gasp strikes by both sides that turned draws into wins or defeats at the death. Palace’s 1-0 away win at Brighton in February 2020, sealed by Jordan Ayew, was also the last game many fans saw live before Covid restrictions, further embedding it in the shared memory.​

Off-Pitch Incidents and “Poo‑gate”

Off the pitch, the rivalry has produced its own darkly comic folklore. A 2013 play-off semi-final at the Amex was overshadowed by “Poo‑gate”, when the Palace dressing room was found smeared with human excrement before kick-off. Suspicion immediately fell on someone linked to Brighton, and while the true culprit has never been definitively confirmed, the incident became another symbol of how far both sets of supporters will go to unsettle the other.​​

Head-to-Head Balance

Historically the head-to-head record is remarkably tight, which only fuels the competition. Various statistical databases show the long-term series hovering close to level, with each club enjoying periods of dominance but neither pulling far clear overall. Recent form has swung back and forth: Brighton enjoyed the upper hand in the early 2020s with a key win in March 2023, while Palace have taken points or wins in several tight, low-scoring encounters.​

Palace vs Brighton Rivalry Snapshot