Manchester United have been accused of inflating their match attendance figures, with police data suggesting the club adds as many as 24,000 spectators to the actual number of fans present at Old Trafford.
According to Greater Manchester Police records obtained by the Redsaway fans' website under the Freedom of Information Act, the average attendance for league matches this season, excluding the Manchester City game, was 65,601. The club's official figure stands at 75,527, a difference of nearly 10,000.
The disparity is most stark in cup competitions. For the Capital One Cup tie against Newcastle in September, police recorded 33,409 attendees, while United announced 46,358. In the next round against West Ham, the gap widened: police counted 51,724, against the club's 71,081. Similarly, for the Champions League match against Cluj in December, police reported 46,894 fans, compared to United's 71,521.
The discrepancy arises because United, like other clubs, report the number of tickets sold rather than actual attendees. Police keep their own records for safety purposes. The data reveals that even for high-profile matches, thousands of ticket-holders stay away. For the league match against Liverpool in January, police recorded 69,933 fans, while United declared 75,501. Against Southampton later that month, the genuine figure was 59,766, almost 16,000 below the official 75,600.
The only match to exceed 70,000 actual attendees this season was the Champions League tie against Real Madrid, where police counted 72,299, against United's 74,959. Despite the discrepancies, United remain the best-supported club in England by a significant margin.
