A Southern Daily Echo sports reporter was ejected from a football fans’ meeting which the paper had devoted column inches to promoting.

Gordon Simpson went to the Southampton Independent Supporters Association forum to meet new Saints manager Nigel Pearson.

But while waiting for the forum to begin, he and other media, including a Sky TV crew, were asked to leave by club officials.

Only Southampton FC’s own media were allowed to stay.

The meeting had around 110 fans there meaning the thousands of Saints fans unable to attend couldn’t read about it the following day in the Echo.

Sports editor Simon Carter told holdthefrontpage: “All the people involved are now backtracking, saying it was a misunderstanding.

“The Saints people are saying only cameras were not allowed but the SISA invited the press and didn’t want them to leave.”

He was told that the chairman didn’t know until late on that the media were going to turn up.

The Echo could only carry a piece attempting to explain the media ban and a quote from a SISA spokesman calling the whole situation “a massive own goal by the club”.

The online story has attracted a variety of comments, praising and criticising the decision in equal measure.

Simon said the explanation coming from club was that management had asked for only the cameras to leave but this was wrongly relayed as all media to leave.

He added: “I can envisage this scenario. I can see that it might have happened and the club have been apologetic since.

“In hindsight, I think it was a genuine misunderstanding.

“The bizarre aspect was that there was never going to be any announcement coming out at the meeting, just the new manager meeting the fans.

“The club are not happy at the fuss we’ve kicked up but they can see our point. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem at the next meeting.”