THE Football League has turned down pleas from Dorset police and AFC Bournemouth to postpone next month's Cherries' home league match against Reading amid safety fears.

Bournemouth operations manager Supt Geoff Watts said the force had twice asked for the fixture at Dorchester Town to be re-scheduled until the new Dean Court stadium is built.

"We have had trouble with Reading supporters in the past which is one of the reasons why we expressed concern.

"We are also aware there will be mixed fans travelling to Dorchester by train.

"The match is expected to attract large numbers of away supporters and there are fears that Dorchester can't cope with such large crowds.

"It has been made an all-ticket game and more away spaces have been allocated.

"But we will be looking at the risks involved and liaising with football intelligence officers throughout the country to ensure the match is adequately policed. We will also be working closely with the British Transport Police."

The Avenue Stadium has a capacity of just 5,009 but ticket demand is likely to exceed this figure.

Cherries' chairman Tony Swaisland confirmed the club had tried to re-arrange the Reading match to safeguard both sets of fans.

Violence flared in March 1999 after Reading football hooligans descended on Bournemouth for their club's match against Cherries - despite being banned from grounds across the country.

About 50 men had to be thrown out after forcing their way into a Bournemouth public house.

Another disturbance at the Queen's Park pub led to a police dog handler suffering a broken nose and other facial injuries.

Football League spokesman Ian Christon said: "The league has already afforded Bournemouth a lot of assistance in going to Dorchester.

"We have accommodated them where we can but we have 71 other clubs to consider and a huge fixture programme.

"It was decided the game could not be postponed given that this season is particularly tight with the World Cup at the end. We work closely with the police but certain requests cannot be met and this was one of them."

Mr Christon added: "Television companies are normally accommodated within the same weekend or the same day. The Reading match is a midweek game.

"We could have changed the kick-off time but postponement causes problems because it is difficult to find slots for games at the end of the season."