A MAN has been arrested after a flare was let off at a football match.

At the 'derby day' game between Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace yesterday, a flare was set off after Palace scored the winning goal of the match in the second half.

A 21-year-old man from Croydon was arrested at the Amex Stadium on suspicion of possession of a firework when entering a sporting event.

Football fans reacted to the flare on Twitter, and questioned the level of security.

One user wrote: "How did they get such acrid smelling smoke canisters into the ground? Heard several people coughing from smoke swilling around."

Last month, an Aston Villa fan who set off a flare when his team scored at the Amex in January was given a three-year football banning order and ordered to pay £347 in fines.

A total of eight people were arrested at the game yesterday. 

A Palace fan was also rushed to hospital after a confrontation with police by the clock tower.