September 14 – Thousands of Manchester United fans protested inside and outside Old Trafford against the club’s ownership before Sunday’s derby loss to Manchester City.
Huge numbers gathered outside the stadium with flares, answering a call from the 1958 Group, before making their way through the Munich tunnel. Inside, The Red Army group ditched their usual banners for a single message above the players’ tunnel: ‘The way you treat us is a disgrace’. It meant the only other banners in the ground were United’s own.
The anger centres on ticketing, after United this week published data from their touting investigation. The club confirmed 685 accounts were banned, with 464 more sanctioned or warned, though it added that 468 cases were resolved once supporters provided the relevant information.
“Unless our generational match-going support is given a real voice that is actually listened to, the little that remains of our fan culture will soon be gone forever,” said The Red Army.
Tellingly, many songs targeted minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe directly, a sign fans hold him as responsible as the Glazers, never forgiven for their 2005 leveraged buyout. Ratcliffe was in the ground.
The 1958 Group’s Steve Compton was scathing. “Ratcliffe came in and gave us a glimmer, but his idea of putting Manchester back in Man United couldn’t be any further from the truth,” he said, adding that the club had made statements but never actually apologised. “This has affected people’s health,” he said.
With full-year accounts due on September 23, debt above £1 billion and no plan yet for a stadium costing over £2 billion, the discontent isn’t going anywhere.
It was a miserable day for Man Utd who lost to the City neighbours 1-0, despite having a man-up advantage. To make it worse the goal, allowed to stand after a VAR review, was later admitted to be an ‘error of judgement’ by referees body Pro Ref.
Contact the writer of this story at nick.webster@insideworldfootball.com