Football
ESPN staff 7y

Arsenal scouts not allowed to watch Lincoln City ahead of FA Cup tie

Arsenal's attempt to scout upcoming FA Cup opponents Lincoln City in person on Tuesday was denied when hosts North Ferriby United, the Imps' National League foes, informed them they could not be accommodated.

The Premier League squad wanted to send a delegation to the Eon Visual Media Stadium and, according to North Ferriby match secretary Andrew Frankland-Barnes, phoned the morning of the match to inquire about seating.

"But we had to tell them, 'Sorry, we're full up - where are we going to put them?'" Frankland-Barnes said, according to the Daily Mirror.

Lincoln, currently three points clear atop the National League, beat North Ferriby 1-0 in front of a record 2,389 people in their first match since shocking Burnley in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

They will play Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in a quarterfinal on March 11, making them the first non-League team to advance to that stage in 103 years.

Arsenal handled the challenge from Sutton United, also a National League side, when they won 2-0 on Monday in the round of 16.

"I heard the Arsenal scouts were not here - but it's quite different to the Emirates, so I'm not sure what they would have learned if they had been allowed in," Lincoln manager Danny Cowley said.

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