GILLINGHAM chairman Paul Scally has deepened the rift between the club and the Gills Independent Supporters' club by inviting all their members to a meeting at Priestfield on May 9 - but excluded their committee.

In a statement on the club's official website, Mr Scally said: "Many messages of support I have received indicate their committee has been acting without the backing of its members.

"The opinions of our genuine supporters need to be taken into consideration. Even though the Gills Independent Supporters' Club represents only a minority of our fans, I am certainly willing to listen to them."

Mike Keskeys, vice-chairman of the GISC, retorted: "Our members are perfectly at liberty to do as they please and go along to the meeting and hear what he's got to say.

"But we want a membership check on the door as we need to make sure that those airing opinions at the meeting are paid-up members of the GISC. We are willing to provide tellers to check the membership list."

He added: "Should any of our members be unhappy about the way the club is being run then the committee will always welcome constructive criticism. But I can assure all of our members that we will not be handing him our database. The law of the land prohibits that."

Meanwhile, Gillingham have had a re-think on their season ticket prices which provoked an outcry among supporters when they were announced two weeks ago.

The club has announced reductions of up to £25 for anyone booking a single year season ticket before the end of May.