Rows of empty Selhurst seats (ChristopherLee/Allsport)

It was the latest humiliating attendance for Wimbledon, whose crowds have plummeted this season following an FA commission's approval of chairman Charles Koppel's plans to move to Milton Keynes.

The overwhelming majority of one-time Wimbledon fans are now watching AFC Wimbledon - a non-league club owned and run by the supporters.

Although AFC play in the Combined Counties League, their lowest home gate of the season is more than twice as high as that of their First Division counterparts.

Media reports of the Rotherham attendance suggested that 227 fans had travelled from Yorkshire and approximately 220 of the other tickets were complimentary.

Meanwhile, a headcount from others inside the ground alleges that the crowd figure could even have dipped below the 500 mark.

The embarrassing statistic is another blow for Koppel, whose hopes of achieving the 60-mile relocation to Milton Keynes by Boxing Day have been hit by the Football League's recent demand for more information on proposals for a temporary home.

And it attracted widespread coverage as reporters inside Selhurst - which can hold more than 26,000 fans - were barely able to believe their eyes.

Rotherham boss Ronnie Moore admitted: 'It didn't feel like a proper football match.

'The people who have come have made as much noise as they can, but it's was still a surreal atmosphere.'

But Koppel, whose club have become widely derided as 'Franchise FC', remained defiant and insisted: 'I would not say it's in a mess at all.

'It is said Wimbledon fans are boycotting the club, but they are no longer Wimbledon fans - the Wimbledon fans we have turned up last night.

'They have decided to move on. They have their own club and we wish them the best. If we had a hundred or 3,000 fans, they are the Wimbledon fans and they are the ones I have to look after.

'We are moving to Milton Keynes. We've done a lot of work in Milton Keynes and we believe the number of fans will be higher than Wimbledon have had historically - higher than last season and higher than our last season in the Premier League.'

His remarks, however, were derided by the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association.

A spokesman said: 'We counted 493 people entering the ground - we were counting at every turnstile that was open. The final crowd figure included all season tickets, whether or not the holders turned up.

'We are expecting around 1,500 for AFC Wimbledon's home game against Woodford Town tonight in the London Senior Cup and our average gate for league games is 3,500.

'As for Koppel's claims that there will be more fans than in the last Wimbledon Premiership season - well, there was an average of around 17,500 then.