Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United have the chance to salvage an otherwise dismal campaign on Wednesday night as they face fellow Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final – but their semi-final opponents, Athletic Club, have reported the Red Devils to UEFA ahead of their showpiece.
Over two legs, the Premier League outfit won 7-1 on aggregate: at Athletic Club’s San Mames Stadium in the first leg, Amorim’s men ran out 3–0 victory and a 4-1 win in the second leg confirmed their attendance in Europe’s secondary competition on May 21.
Ironically, the Europa League final is being held at Athletic Club’s stomping ground – and the all-English final is a chance for both teams to win silverware despite having terrible domestic campaigns. As things stand, Manchester United are 16th and Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs are in the spot behind them.
Athletic Club File Complaint to UEFA over Man Utd Behaviour
The Spanish club are unhappy over treatment of fans
Ahead of Manchester United travelling to Spain in an attempt to win a trophy in three consecutive seasons, Athletic Club have filed an official complaint to UEFA after the circumstances of the second leg, which was held at Old Trafford on May 8, 2025.
According to Spanish publication AS, their fans were treated poorly when visiting one of the Premier League’s greatest-ever stadiums as some of the Athletic Club faithful attempted to watch the European fixture in the home end.
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Since, the powers that be at Athletic Club, who are currently fourth in the 2024/25 La Liga table, have issued a statement to emphasise – after some of their fans, in their eyes, were poorly treated during their trip – that the responsibility lies with Manchester United’s head of security.
“The responsibility for granting access, in accordance with Manchester United's entry and stay regulations, lies with the Manchester United head of security, and his decisions cannot be overturned by Athletic Club, the UEFA head of security, or the Ertzaintza officers deployed.”
The report suggested that a chunk of the 4,000 fans who travelled from Spain to England to watch the Basque Country-based outfit in action were ejected from Old Trafford. Several were insulted and punched, while a handful of travelling match-goers were denied entry despite paying over €400.
As a means of keeping the incident to minimal disruption, Athletic Club staff went to various areas of the Theatre of Dreams upon finding out – and the report suggests they attempted to intervene.
Although they understand that Manchester United obtain the right to expel fans as and when they please, they believe their power had been misused. “Only Manchester United fans can purchase tickets for local areas,” the Red Devils have remained stern in their messaging.
For Amorim – who is widely regarded as one of the best young managers in world football – securing silverware in his maiden season would be impressive. In the Premier League, his side are set to face the Champions League-chasing Aston Villa on the final day.