Sports Minister To Mediate

Sports Minister Richard Cabon has offered to mediate the ticket dispute between Leeds and Hull City.

Hull are unhappy at only being offered 1700 tickets for the New Years Eve clash between the sides at Elland Road, and the West Yorkshire Police request that all fans travel on official coaches only.

Hull Chairman Adam Pearson has already threatened to return the allocation, and not take any fans to the game unless the restriction is lifted and more tickets are made available.

'If Adam Pearson wants to write to me I will look at it,' Caborn told the Hull Daily Mail.

'It is in everyone's interests, the fans' interests and the police interests, to make sure that we get fans acting responsibly.'

'This is a big derby game but there is very little trouble inside football stadia nowadays and it's not as if there are not derbies every other week throughout the country. I would urge the two clubs to work together with police to try and find a solution whereby the hooligans are not dictating to law-abiding football fans. There surely has to be a solution.'

'What I don't want is the minority dictating to the majority - that is always wrong.'