Man Utd's attempts to tackle touting at Old Trafford have led to genuine supporters facing bans and fan groups have now released a statement.
Manchester United's attempt to clamp down on touting has impacted innocent supporters
Manchester United's attempt to clamp down on touting has impacted innocent supporters
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Manchester United supporter groups have called on the club to end the suspension of season tickets in an attempt to crack down on touts that have caught many long-standing match-going fans in the chaos.
United began an operation to clamp down on touting last week, but it has led to some genuine supporters being threatened with bans, with emails being sent that have left them fearing bans and their season tickets withdrawn.
The email asked fans to confirm every device they regularly use to access their account. While some supporters have had restrictions lifted, others have been told they will have to go through an appeals process and some fear their bans will remain in place, despite the feeling they have done nothing wrong.
The issue has brought together fan groups, and the statement released on Tuesday night came from the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST), The Red Army, Manchester United Youth Supporters Club, The 1958, all fans' forum representatives, more than 100 official supporters' clubs and fanzines Red News and United We Stand.
The statement said: "We fully support the Manchester United Fans' Forum letter and the principles it sets out.
"The issues raised are not about defending ticket touting or abuse of the Club's ticketing system. Professional touting, automated purchasing and those who exploit supporters for financial gain have no place at Manchester United and deserve robust action.
"However, that action must be fair, proportionate and transparent. Long-standing supporters who have followed Manchester United for decades, often across multiple generations of the same family, should never feel they are being treated as suspects without clear evidence, due process or a meaningful opportunity to respond to the allegations made against them.
"The current approach has created a growing perception among supporters of a 'Ban first and ask questions later' process. That is not how trust is built, nor is it consistent with the standards of fairness that loyal supporters should expect from their football club. Investigations should establish the facts before sanctions are imposed, particularly where the potential consequence is the loss of a Season Ticket and relationships with the Club built over many decades.
"The Fans' Forum has rightly called on the Club to pause the issuing of further suspensions and to halt any cancellation of Season Tickets while meaningful discussions take place. We fully support that request. Taking time to review the current approach, engage with supporter representatives and restore confidence is in the interests of both the Club and its supporters.
"The principles outlined in the Fans' Forum letter recognise something fundamental. The Club and its supporters share the same objective: ensuring tickets are used fairly by genuine Manchester United supporters while protecting the integrity of the ticketing system.
"That objective will only be achieved through trust, transparency, proportionate enforcement, better-designed systems and meaningful engagement with supporters, not by creating an environment where loyal fans fear losing relationships with the Club that have been built over decades."
The statement went on to add how the matter has forced fan groups to take unprecedented action in joining forces to support a common position, and that, while each fan group has their own perspective and priorities, they would continue to work in tandem wherever possible when such major issues arise.
United have said that emails have only been sent to fans who have six or more accounts linked and that, despite the fears, no sanctions have been handed out yet.
They also confirmed every case would be looked at by a human, rather than being decided by AI, and said that if any season tickets were revoked, they would be sold as season tickets, rather than on a game-by-game basis, which some supporters feared was the plan.