MARCHING York City fans delivering a 5,000 signature petition to the FA won't get to see the game's top brass tomorrow.

A mini-army of City fans are poised to march through London prior to City's clash at Luton and take their concerns about the club's plight direct to chief executive Adam Crozier.

The supporters plan to present a petition to the Football Association at their headquarters in Soho which calls on the FA to investigate the proposed sale of the club.

However, an FA spokesman said that Crozier and other officials wouldn't be there tomorrow as the FA offices are closed on Saturdays.

Although the petition organisers contacted the FA to inform them of the march it was only yesterday that they learned there would be no official available to acept the petition.

The marchers look as though they'll have to pass it on via an FA security officer outside the building.

It has emerged the petition has now been signed by well over 5,000 fans. That figure could rise to almost 6,000 by the time of tomorrow's march.

Nearly all of the 92 professional clubs in the country are represented on the petition while fans in New Zealand, the Middle East and the Virgin Islands have also signed-up via the Internet.

John Catton, a leading light in the London and the South Branch of the City Supporters' Club, said: "The support we've received has been outstanding.

"We received a batch of over 200 names from Brighton fans, whose club have obviously been left in a similar mess by their owners before, as well as from places across the UK and beyond."

The petition calls for an investigation into the way the club's current owners were able to side-step an FA rule which was designed to prevent shareholders making profits on their original investment should a club be wound-up.

The petition also calls on the FA to break its silence on the controversy. The Evening Press has e-mailed Crozier asking for his views on the situation but is still awaiting a reply.

Colin Matthews, an exiled fan based in London and one of the organisers of tomorrow's protest, said: "This matter is not just about York City.

"It is about the threat to other clubs up and down the country whose owners may decide to undertake similar actions to those proposed by the board."

He added: "The FA's rules are supposed to stop individuals profiting from the sale of club's assets at the expense of the football club itself.

"The FA should act on this matter and work to ensure that the directors of all clubs act more in the interests of the Club rather than themselves."

York MP Hugh Bayley has voiced his concern about the circumvention of the rules and has requested a meeting with Crozier to discuss the issues.

Fans wanting to join the march should gather at Hanover Square Gardens, close to Oxford Circus tube station, before 10.30am.

The fans will then make their way to FA headquarters at Soho Square to hand in the petition at around 11am. In a show of unity, a presentation will also be made by members of Fulham Supporters' Club to a York City Supporters' Trust representative of £2,000, raised through bucket collections by Fulham fans in support of the campaign.

Updated: 12:14 Friday, February 22, 2002