Albion have cancelled the last leg of their Irish tour after Saturday's friendly at Longford ended in uproar.

Boss Micky Adams ordered his side off the pitch seconds from the end of a stormy first half.

Charlie Oatway and home defender Alan Murphy were in the process of being sent off by inexperienced Athlone referee Dermot Tone when a furious Adams called a halt.

At one stage almost all 22 players were trading blows and insults before a bemused crowd of around 500 in central Ireland.

There had been a nasty undercurrent throughout between a home side keen to claim an English scalp and an Albion outfit determined to stand their ground.

On a night to forget for the Seagulls, Richard Carpenter and Matt Wicks had to be hauled off by their manager after almost came to blows while Adams was incensed by an alleged elbow from Eric Levine into the face of Andy Crosby.

The Seagulls boss said: "It was a disgrace. Longford had clearly been wound up by their manager.

"I took two of my players off to stop it getting out of hand. The referee did not see anything. I thought he was way out of his depth and did not know what was happening."

Tone was only given the fixture because senior Irish referees were at a seminar. He would normally referee amateur matches.

He finally lost any semblance of control when players reacted to a dreadful challenge by Albion's Steve Melton.

Adams admitted: "The tackle that Steve Melton did on their lad warranted a sending off. But having said that there was a lot of provocation from their lads.

"I'm bitterly disappointed. I will be submitting a report to the Football Association of Ireland. There was clearly no protection from their players whatsoever and I think their manager should take a look at himself."

Home boss Stephen Kenny pointed the finger at Albion, claiming Longford had outclassed the Seagulls, who had taken out their frustration on the Irish players. He pointed to his side's excellent disciplinary record but Adams said: "What about us? We were second or third in the fair play league last season. I've cancelled the Athlone game tonight because quite clearly we are getting no protection.What is important to me is the safety of my players."

Albion, who were drawing 1-1 when the match was abandoned, will remain at the Ballygar training base before returning home as planned tomorrow.