Heaton United have appealed against their expulsion from the Bradford and District FA Cup.

The Sunday Alliance club were thrown out of this season's cup and banned from next year's competition after October's stormy tie against fellow Alliance club Harps International.

The District FA showed them the red card after the West Riding County FA had fined them £300 for the behaviour of their players with £150 of it suspended until the end of this season.

Harps have also appealed to the FA after their spectators were found guilty of misconduct during the same game.

They were fined £200, of which £100 was suspended until the end of the current campaign.

Heaton secretary Arif Nazir said: "We have appealed to the FA against the decision and we are taking legal advice about everything that happened that day."

Nazir claims that their players were taunted with racial abuse during the game and one was hit as he was picking up corner flags after the match.

"We are challenging the decision to throw us out of the cup," he said. "I cannot understand why they have done it. We feel we have been dragged into something which is not of our making."

A spokesman for the County FA said: "Clubs are responsible for the behaviour of their players and spectators. The two clubs have been found guilty of breaching FA rules and have been disciplined."

The County FA acted after receiving a report from referee Carl Kenyon who said the scenes after the match were the worst he had witnessed.

Kenyon said: "I had no bother with either of the teams during the match, but I had to ask one man to leave the touchline. The incidents took place as we were leaving the ground. For no apparent reason, players in Heaton United kit clashed with Harps spectators."