Two Croydon councillors have been condemned as "incredibly disrespectful" after being caught watching football during a meeting in the council chamber.

John Wentworth and Pat Ryan were spotted from the public gallery streaming Crystal Palace's televised trip to Everton on an iPad during a debate about the future of Fairfield Halls.

The Labour pair drew criticism from opposition councillors and members of the public, who said they "don't seem to have their priorities straight".

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Coun Wentworth said he had been "momentarily checking the score" during Monday night's debate.

His colleague Coun Ryan apologised on Tuesday morning but insisted the two "were not ignoring what was going on".

He told the Croydon Guardian: "If people feel that I was not concentrating then I can assure them that was not  the case.

"It was fleeting look at the score and that was the end of it. If they are upset by that then I do apologise."

But Gabriella Bush snapped a series of photographs from the gallery that showed the two Upper Norwood councillors looking at the football, and said: "Not impressed that our representatives don't seem to have their priorities straight."

Coun Wentworth appeared to close the iPad when shouts from two members of the public that he was "watching football" drew the attention of other councillors.

At the time, councillors were debating a Conservative-tabled motion criticising plans to close Fairfield Halls for two years during refurbishment.

Conservative councillor Mario Creatura described the Labour duo as "incredibly disrespectful to worried staff" of theatre complex, some of whom were in attendance at the meeting and had asked questions about the venue's fate.

Coun Ryan, who has supported Palace since the 1960s, said today he had watched the game for a "fleeting two minutes".

He said: "John turned his iPad on to see what the score was quick. We saw what the score was and we turned it off, but in that time some guy upstairs must have got a shot of it.

"We did check the score, there was a vision on the screen as we checked the score was 0-0, but all we were doing was checking to see how our local team Crystal Palace were doing. We were not ignoring what was going on.

"At that point we weren't aware that somebody was hanging over the balcony very irate about what they heard or didn't hear about the Fairfield.

"They were obviously very irate because they didn't hear what they wanted to hear and it was an opportunity I suppose.

"I'm a great supporter of the Fairfield Halls. I think their staff are magnificent, the whole thing is magnificent and the quicker its built and refurbished, the better.

"I would never be disrespectful to the Fairfield Halls, I would never be disrespectful to the council, being a former mayor, and I'm sure John as a headteacher would not be disrespectful."

He added: "If people are offended, then I am sorry I have offended them. I can understand where they are coming from, but they can rest assured that it was for two minutes."

iPads and mobile phones are a common sight in the council chamber, although most devices are used to facilitate political spats on Twitter rather than follow sporting action.

Some Labour councillors made light of the furore, including Sean Fitzsimons, who said it was clear his political rivals "can't multitask".

The match finished 1-1, with Everton's Romelu Lukaku cancelling out Scott Dann's earlier header. 

It is thought the Labour councillors missed both goals.

Coun Wentworth could not be reached for a comment this morning.