Comedian Eddie Izzard has claimed he suffered a homophobic tirade from a fellow Crystal Palace football fan at the FA Cup final and was labelled a ‘f***ing disgrace’.

The 54-year-old, who is not gay but describes himself as transgender, said he was verbally ‘attacked’ during his side’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Izzard, who is an associate director at the Premier League club, claimed a fan told him he was ‘a disgrace to the Crystal Palace team’ before others in the 88,619 crowd stepped in to defend him.

'F***ing disgrace': Crystal Palace fan Eddie Izzard, pictured at West Ham United's Upton Park last month, said he was verbally ‘attacked’ during his side’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on Saturday

Big day out: Crystal Palace supporters in the stands during the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday. There is no suggestion anyone pictured in the photographs of fans was involved in the incident

According to BuzzFeed's Emily Ashton, Izzard said of the incident in London: ‘Someone [verbally] attacked me and was exceedingly horrible. He said I’m a disgrace to the Crystal Palace team.

‘I was wearing a Crystal Palace shirt, he said “You’re a f***ing disgrace”, and I went "Hey, what the bloody hell are you saying?” and all the other Palace fans came out and said “Hey, back off, man”.

‘And I just thought it was actually rather positive, because only one guy was screaming homophobic abuse at me rather than 20 or an entire section of an audience.’

He revealed what happened while speaking to students in Birmingham as he visits 31 cities in Britain to urge young people to register to vote for Britain to remain in the EU in next month’s referendum.

Izzard, who came out as transgender in 1985, also told how a man had recently been arrested near his home for screaming homophobic insults at him, adding: ‘I’m still living with this abuse.’

Vocal support: Palace fans are seen during their side's match against Manchester United, which they lost 2-1

Buoyant mood: Palace supporters perform the Poznan celebration in the stands during the final at Wembley

A spokesman for Palace LGBT group Proud and Palace said: 'The cup final was one of the proudest days in our club's history so to have it marred by the incident is deeply saddening.

Student tour: Izzard made a public apperance at Reading University on Tuesday as he admitted that he thinks the EU is difficult and too bureaucratic

‘We are, however, cheered by the news that several Crystal Palace fans stepped in to support Eddie.

‘Eddie is truly “one of our own” and to the fans who spoke up in the face of homophobic or transphobic abuse we send our sincere thanks. We hope that any member of the CPFC (Crystal Palace Football Club) family could count on their fellow fans for the same support.’

Izzard - who is the son of a BP accountant father and a midwife mother - is known for keeping his romantic life private, although it was revealed in 2010 that he used to date director Sarah Townsend after they he met at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1989.

They dated from 1999 until 2002 but were never pictured together and he never named her.

In 2013 he said he had recently been beaten up by bigots in both London’s Leicester Square and New York’s Times Square, and battered by thugs in Cambridge for wearing a dress in 1996.

Speaking about being transgender in March, Izzard told BBC Three: ‘I’ve got boy genetics and girl genetics. We get obsessed by it in humanity. No matter what sex or sexuality, how you self-identify, or who you fancy, matters not one whit – what do you do in life? What do you make? What do you add to the human existence? That’s what matters. I don’t know why, it’s just the genetic cards I’ve been given.

'A lot of people have said very nasty things to me, have fought me in the streets… but f*** them.’

He added at the time: 'I do like my nails and they've been knocked about a bit so I'm getting my nails re-done. I use it as a badge of identity. I am a transgender guy. I came out 31 years ago.’

He said 'You’re a f***ing disgrace', and I went 'Hey, what the bloody hell are you saying?' Eddie Izzard

Meanwhile, Izzard admitted at Reading University on Tuesday that he thinks the EU is difficult and too bureaucratic but urged young people to vote to stay in and ‘make it work’.

The Labour supporter said he is a British European who wants the younger generation to have the same opportunities he did when he travelled around Europe in his youth.