Three arrested as Man Utd fans throw tennis balls in protest
Three arrested as Man Utd fans throw tennis balls in protest

Three people were arrested for throwing objects onto the pitch during Manchester United's Champions League clash with Roma, as fans staged anti-ownership protests at Old Trafford.

In the 20th minute of United's dramatic 3-2 win on Tuesday, supporters in the Stretford End threw green tennis balls onto the pitch. The tie had to be stopped, with United players removing the balls, and play was halted with Roma leading 2-0 as the atmosphere turned toxic.

Police confirm 11 arrests

Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that 11 arrests were made relating to Tuesday's match, three of which were for items being thrown onto the pitch. Police also arrested four people for various assault offences, including assault of an emergency worker, while two arrests were made for public order offences, one for fraud and one for a drugs offence.

The protests began before kick-off, as hundreds of green and gold balloons - the colours used to protest the Glazer family's ownership - were bounced around the Stretford End. Chants against the Glazers and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe were also heard.

United end winless run

United supporters were much happier at full-time, as Michael Carrick's side ended their miserable nine-game winless streak. They return to action at Old Trafford on Sunday, hosting Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Carrick now wants consistency from his players, with United at risk of going into the international break in the relegation zone. "We've just got to do things better for longer," the Red Devils boss said on Friday.

"Periods and times in certain games when you look and you like we do and you look back and you think what could we improve, what do we need to improve on, what have we lacked. It's been certain moments, little moments in games that we maybe haven't been quite ready for, we haven't made good decisions. That's part of football."

"But we can do that. We can be consistent with it. And of course, when we came in January and this hadn't been done before or whatever, that hadn't been done before, like I've just said before, anything's possible, and we can win more games of football. But we've got to go and earn that and ensure we can do it."