Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in the firing line after the Man Utd co-owner said the United Kingdom was being "colonised" by immigrants in an interview.
Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club
The Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club have hit back at Ratcliffe
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The co-founder of the Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club (MUMSC) has accused Sir Jim Ratcliffe of risking making fans from migrant backgrounds feel unwelcome at Old Trafford after his controversial comments about immigrants. Ratcliffe said in a Sky News interview that the United Kingdom had been "colonised" by immigrants, drawing an immediate backlash from high-profile public figures and supporters groups.
Ghulam Haydar, who helped found MUMSC two years ago and works closely with the club, recently made a sizeable donation to their winter coats appeal and said he was "appalled" by Ratcliffe's comments, which he felt were "inflammatory and divisive". He also said the 73-year-old's statement didn't reflect the true reality of United as a club.
"I just felt it was way off the mark," he told the Manchester Evening News. "It was inflammatory, it was divisive and it was just totally uncalled for. It didn’t reflect Manchester United being a global club with a global fan base, people from all different backgrounds who support the club, visit and attend matches.
"The workforce as well, when you attend a match, you see it’s made up of people from all different backgrounds, of all different shades and persuasions, and it was just really surprising given how the club is."
Discussing immigration during the interview, Ratcliffe said: "You can't have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the UK has been colonised. It's costing too much money.
"The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn't it? I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it's 70 million. That's 12 million people."
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimates that the population of the UK was 67 million in mid-2020 and 70 million in mid-2024. The UK population was estimated at 58.9 million in 2000.
Haydar pointed out that MUMSC had arranged an Iftar during Ramadan with the club last year and have started talks about repeating the event this season, but said these comments had caused anger and disappointment within the supporters' club and on various WhatsApp groups.
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It has also led to supporters from minority backgrounds wondering whether they are in fact welcome at Old Trafford and now fearing reprisals after Ratcliffe's public comments.
"You see comments like this and you hear comments like this and you think, actually who's he talking about? Is he referring to us? Are we not welcome?" he said.
"The members have really expressed how disappointed they are and some are outraged by it. They just feel unwelcome and marginalised now.
"It deflects the issues that we have in society, the focus goes to minorities and migrants. And therefore, the inadvertent adverse effects of that are that migrants become targets.
Ghulam Haydar, the co-founder of MUMSC
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"We'd like to think we're a unified fan base. And I certainly would love to believe that. But people are easily influenced by rhetoric sometimes.
"It might have been unintentional. I don't know, but he creates a target on the backs of people of colour who will be assumed as migrants. I'm a person of colour. I'm second-generation here. And I'd probably just have to be a little bit more alert than I usually am and expect some form of rhetoric in my direction.
"This is what he needs to realise, that there are real-life consequences for the Manchester United fan base because they might feel unwelcome, but also they might actually feel in danger. We know from statistics that when there are statements by high-profile individuals, it usually correlates with an increased amount of hate crimes."
Ratcliffe has since apologised if his comments caused offence, although in a statement he said he felt it was important to raise the issue.
"I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern but it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth," he said.
"My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK.
"My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone. It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK."
Ratcliffe used statistics that were incorrect during his interview and Haydar said it was presenting a picture of migrants that was simply incorrect.
"The irony of it all is that the statistics he used were incorrect and is therefore creating a construct and a narrative that's incorrect," he said.
"Migrants play a significant role in our society. They make a net positive contribution through the taxes they pay, creating business opportunities with their entrepreneurial spirit, and fulfilling many different job roles that contribute to society. I myself work within the NHS."