Man Utd fans will protest against the club's alleged 'season ticket banning crackdown' before the Manchester derby.
United fans will protest on Sunday.(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
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Manchester United fans are sadly no strangers to organising protests. The club's ownership has sparked dozens of protests over the last two decades, and the latest demonstration will take place on Sunday before the Manchester derby.
United received widespread backlash from some of their most loyal supporters in July following the launch of an investigation into touting, which caught some innocent fans in the crossfire.
United supporter group The 1958 have announced they will protest against the 'season ticket banning crackdown' before this weekend's Manchester derby, declaring that 'a line has been crossed'.
Although United described their operation to address touting as "successful", they recognised that "some innocent supporters may have been affected" and apologised for the inconvenience during the process.
The affected supporters have gone through an appeals process. Some had restrictions expunged, while others faced sanctions. Some of the fans who have faced sanctions have continued to protest their innocence.
United reiterated something had to be done to tackle genuine touts, but supporters feel the operation, which was rolled out without consultation, was heavy-handed and inappropriate. The Manchester Evening News spoke to several fans who suffered from stress during the fiasco.
The club have been accused of not wanting season ticket holders. And while United said any revoked season tickets would be reissued as season tickets, the optics of the fiasco have only strengthened the feeling among some of the most loyal fans that they are an inconvenience.
Manchester City fans have laughed at their rivals during protests against the Glazers. They have taken pleasure in United's downfall, just as United supporters would do if the shoe were on the other foot, but the sentiment between rival fans should change when ticketing issues are at stake.
When United increased Premier League tickets to £66 two years ago, with no concessions for children or pensioners, there were some rival City fans who laughed at Sir Jim Ratcliffe's treatment of his own supporters.
There were others who saw the bigger picture. Price rises are the direction of travel in the Premier League, which has become out of touch with its working-class support, and those fans were aware it wouldn't be long before their own ownership attempted to increase their ticket prices.
That is exactly what has happened at City, who tried to increase season ticket prices last season and again this season before freezing the prices after successful protests from their unhappy supporters.
City fans managed to make the club back down on plans to increase ticket prices. United fans have not been as fortunate, but the common struggle shows rival supporters are both fighting tooth and nail for fan culture.
Both sets of supporters are fighting to ensure the next generation of Mancunians can watch their local teams at a fair price. The lifeblood of both football clubs cannot be priced out of supporting their own teams.
“Supporters are now facing serious sanctions which can remove their right to attend matches," a spokesperson from The 1958 said. "We believe nobody should face such action without being told clearly what they are accused of and being shown the evidence used to justify it.
“This goes beyond individual supporters or supporter groups. If this approach is allowed to stand, it should concern every match-going Red.
“Whatever differences have existed between supporter groups in the past, this is a time to put them aside. A call has gone out for Manchester United supporter groups, Fans’ Forum representatives, supporters’ clubs and independent fan organisations to stand together on a simple principle:
“If there is clear, substantive evidence of serious wrongdoing or organised ticket touting, show it. No loyal supporter should be treated as guilty without being given a fair opportunity to understand and challenge the case against them.”
United's touting fiasco brought together the various United fan groups, who took the unprecedented step of releasing a joint statement condemning the operation and demanding transparency from the club.
It wouldn't be a surprise to see rival Premier League supporters come together in a similar fashion to protest against ticketing issues in the future. The European Super League protests showed what can be achieved in that regard.