Crystal Palace and Brighton are rivals mainly because of a string of bad‑tempered matches and personality clashes in the 1970s, not because of classic local geography.

Quick Scoop

  • The rivalry really ignited in the mid‑1970s when Terry Venables (Palace) and Alan Mullery (Brighton) were rival managers and clashed repeatedly.
  • A notorious FA Cup tie in 1976–77 went to multiple replays, featured a disallowed Brighton goal and a retaken, then missed, Brighton penalty, leaving long‑lasting bitterness.
  • Mullery’s angry post‑match gestures and comments towards Palace fans became a symbolic “origin story” for the hate between the clubs.
  • With no big nearby rivals of their own size, Palace and Brighton “adopted” each other as enemies despite being around 40+ miles apart on the M23.
  • The animosity has since been kept alive by repeated fiery league meetings and dramatic results in the Premier League era.

How it all started

In the early 1970s, Palace and Brighton were both ambitious clubs trying to climb the divisions at roughly the same time. They were managed by two big personalities who already knew each other from their playing days at Spurs: Terry Venables at Crystal Palace and Alan Mullery at Brighton.

As they pushed for promotion, they met several times in quick succession, and those games quickly turned nasty on and off the pitch.

The infamous 1976–77 FA Cup saga

The real flashpoint came in the 1976–77 FA Cup, when replays were used instead of extra time and penalties.

  • The tie between Brighton and Palace needed three matches to settle it.
  • In the decisive game, Brighton thought they had scored from the penalty spot, only for the referee to order a retake for encroachment.
  • On the retake, Palace’s keeper saved, Brighton went out 1–0, and their players and fans were furious at feeling “cheated” by the decisions.

This sequence of controversy – disallowed goal, retaken penalty, then elimination – is still talked about as the moment things truly boiled over.

Mullery, coins and insults

After that decisive match, Alan Mullery completely lost his cool in front of the Palace crowd.

  • He allegedly threw coins on the floor and shouted that this was “all Crystal Palace are worth.”
  • He also made angry gestures towards home fans, which were seared into Palace supporters’ memories.

From Palace’s perspective, this made Brighton’s manager and club look arrogant and disrespectful. From Brighton’s side, Mullery’s rage reflected how wronged they felt by the referee and by Palace’s win.

Geography and the M23 factor

Unlike most English derbies, this isn’t a simple city or neighbourhood rivalry. Palace are in south London; Brighton are a coastal club about 40–45 miles away, linked by the M23 and A23 roads (hence “M23 derby”).

In the 1970s and 1980s, neither club had a similarly sized team right on its doorstep in the same division, so the repeated clashes and bad blood basically “promoted” each other to primary enemy status. Fans on both sides often describe it as a derby that outsiders don’t fully understand but which feels like a football “birthright” passed down generations.

How it’s stayed intense

The rivalry has been kept alive by:

  • Frequent, often tense league matches, especially when both sides have been in the same division.
  • Memorable modern games, like Brighton’s big 3–1 win in 2018 and a late Brighton winner at Selhurst Park in 2021, which re‑ignite the needle each time.
  • A shared sense of being slightly unfashionable clubs punching above their weight in the Premier League, which gives extra pride when beating the other.

There is some grudging respect – both sets of fans know their clubs aren’t global giants – but that only adds spice when they meet.

Forum and “latest talk” vibe

On fan forums and social media, supporters still argue over:

  • Whether the rivalry is “real” or “manufactured,” especially to neutrals who see the distance and are confused.
  • Which incidents mattered most: the FA Cup controversy, Mullery’s outburst, or later key promotion and Premier League matches.
  • Whether it has softened a bit with modern success, or whether every new flashpoint (like late winners, controversial VAR calls, or banner displays) just renews the hostility.

You’ll also see tongue‑in‑cheek comments from each side calling the other “idiots” or “evil” in that typical football‑rivalry way, showing how much emotion is still attached to the fixture.

TL;DR: Crystal Palace and Brighton became rivals because of a cluster of heated matches and refereeing controversies in the 1970s, fuelled by fiery managers and Mullery’s infamous outburst, then locked in as a tradition since – despite the unusual distance between the clubs.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.