Around 500 Manchester United fans gathered outside Old Trafford before the Manchester derby to protest against the club's treatment of season ticket holders and its direction under co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The demonstration was organised by United fan group The 1958, which said a "line had been crossed" following the club's ticket touting investigation.
Protest details and banners
Instead of the usual flags in the Stretford End, a single banner reading "THE WAY YOU TREAT US IS A DISGRACE" was hung above the tunnel for the visit of Manchester City. The police initially estimated that approximately 500 fans had gathered at the Bishop Blaize pub, but more supporters joined as the protest moved down Sir Matt Busby Way towards the ground.
Anti-Glazer chants were aired alongside chants directed at Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with fans unfurling banners including "JIM AIN'T THE ONE" and a banner with the Amazon logo that read: "You take it all from fans and banning us for nothing. Premium prices all for greed." The Amazon logo refers to the record fee the American company paid to film a fly-on-the-wall documentary at United.
Fan anger and reaction
The protest was peaceful, but supporters were clearly furious. Steve Crompton, spokesperson for The 1958, told the Manchester Evening News: "I hope Jim Ratcliffe's watching this now, because my message to that man is sell this football club."
He added: "You've done nothing good for this football club. You never will. It's a vanity project. It's nothing to do with what's important to match-going fans. You prove that by shafting everybody for the last God knows how many months. You have total disregard for match-going fans."
Crompton also said: "You keep poking the bear, and the bear's going to bite back, and this is what's happening right now. And this is important for the Premier League, because this is happening not just at Old Trafford. I care about Man United fans and what's good for us. And what's happening is an absolute utter disgrace. But this is happening all over the Premier League. We've had massive support from City fans, from Liverpool fans."
Club response and context
Michael Carrick was asked about the protests during his post-match press conference and said: "Yeah, listen, the details in terms of all what goes behind it, you know, I'm not always in line to get to the bottom of it. But I definitely appreciate the supporters. I think if they do feel that in certain ways, then, of course, we want to try everything to make them happy. That's part of performances on the pitch and off the pitch."
He added: "They're a huge part of this football club. They're everything for this football club. So I'm feeling for them today, you know, on the back of losing the game today. So I never take them for granted. I speak about that quite a lot, and it means a lot to me, so I just feel for them today."
The protest came after the club's ticket touting investigation resulted in 685 fans being stripped of their season tickets, and 464 supporters either being sanctioned or warned. The decline on the pitch has been compounded by the attack on fan culture, including the increase in ticket prices and the crackdown on season ticket holders. United fans are tired of protesting against the club's ownership, but there is no sign of change coming any time soon.
