'Chrystal' Palace must drop their aitches

Premiership newcomers Crystal Palace scored their first own goal of the season - by spelling their name wrongly on the football shirts.

Batches of the £39.99 adult home replica tops, junior away shirts and grey goalkeeper jerseys show the name as Chrystal Palace.

Supporter Peter Munday, 68, said: "You'd have thought the one thing they would get right would be the club's name."

Another fan, speaking outside the team's Selhurst Park stadium, added: "I've feared that we would be the Premiership whipping boys since we went up.

"But I never thought we'd be a laughing stock before the season started. I hope this isn't an omen that things are going to go wrong."

The spelling blunder is at the bottom of the shirts, on a small crest depicting an eagle clutching a football on top of the Crystal Palace exhibition hall.

The name is spelt correctly on the badge on the left breast of the tops, made in Romania for Italian sports giant Diadora. The company said it was "addressing the problem" but the shirts were still on sale at the club's shop yesterday.

Crystal Palace were promoted after beating West Ham 1-0 in last season's Division One playoff final.