Perhaps it was inevitable, given the way the game is going. Football is starting to eat itself with its soaring transfer expenditure and rocketing wage bills. The balance sheet has never looked so off-kilter.
To pay for all the outlay, it is the bottom of the food chain who suffer as usual. Supporters at the majority of top clubs have had to endure plenty of ticket price rises over the past few years, with the focus more than ever placed upon corporate customers over regular, local match-goers.
This summer, discontent has continued to grow, nowhere more so than at Manchester United. A controversial crackdown on ticket touts, which led to many longstanding supporters receiving bans, has brought an already fractious relationship between the club and its supporters to breaking point.
Supporter group The 1958 have announced that this Sunday there will be another protest. And rather than the usual generic fan angst towards wealthy and unscrupulous owners, this will focus on the ticket touting clampdown.
The i Paper has spoken to numerous supporters close to the club to find out why the dark clouds will not shift above Old Trafford anytime soon.
United ‘have stopped engaging’
Luca Black recently resigned as U21 representative of the Manchester United Fans’ Forum. “I applied when I was 14, and then in my first meeting Joel Glazer was there,” he tells The i Paper.
“[Former CEO] Richard Arnold was there too. I left that first meeting feeling great hope about how the club treated its fans. Things started to go downhill since Ineos came in.
“They’ve got worse and worse with the installation of digital ticketing, up to the awful way they went about this latest season ticket issue. They say they trust the Fans’ Advisory Board (FAB) and Fans’ Forum, but they are no longer willing to engage with us all. The trust between club and fans has gone.
“These Fans’ Advisory Board meetings are supposed to give us a greater voice, but we aren’t even told who all the people on the board are, they have to sign non-disclosure agreements, and the meetings are not minuted.”
United have launched a war on touting (Photo: Getty)There are some at United who believe the club has a much better system for engaging with supporters than others. In the aftermath of the European Super League debacle, each Premier League club set up a Fans’ Advisory Board to give supporters direct access to senior figures.
Some used that as an opportunity to put existing fan forums out to pasture. United still keep an active FAB and Fans’ Forum. United chief executive, Omar Berrada, co-chairs FAB meetings.
FAB meetings are more streamlined, less of a “shouting match”, with non-disclosure agreements in place so proper discussions can happen without fear of leaks. While meetings are not minuted, there are forum representatives present to relay information.
The war on touts
That has made United’s war on alleged touts all the more disappointing to fans. Just like with the £66 ticket price rises in mid-season in 2024, neither the FAB or Fans’ Forum were consulted before the club announced the crackdown.
Supporters were stunned to receive emails out of the blue asking them to prove they had not done anything wrong.
“We really let our feelings be known in the last Fans’ Forum meeting,” one member told The i Paper. “The tone was so aggressive, assuming guilt before seeing proof, with some deeply affected by the accusations.
“It was so easily avoidable if they had consulted us. I am always telling the club, ‘allow us to help you, let us walk you through it’. Then they run ahead and do it anyway. They never seem to learn… That is why we are where we are, and another protest is ahead of us.”
Last week a message was shared on social media by a supporter who had signed up for a cup scheme and not purchased a ticket when they needed to. The club texted them saying: “You don’t have a ticket for the Sabah game on Thursday, please do not come to Old Trafford.” A link to buy tickets followed, along with the threat of further sanctions.
Ratcliffe’s cuts
Many supporters are growing tired of never-ending protests. Last season’s demonstrations before February’s Fulham clash drew much smaller numbers than anticipated. Those involved this time hope that targeting a protest at one specific thing will encourage numbers to swell once more.
“It is just the tip of the iceberg, really,” one of the organisers, who wished to remain anonymous, tells The i Paper. “After Ratcliffe made all the job cuts, raised ticket prices, moved long-standing supporters from their seats to make way for more corporate seats, this is the final straw.
“Most got them got any bans overturned, but I know some still can’t get in. It’s a joke.”
The Independent Football Ombudsman is reviewing many bans. United, coincidentally, released figures from their completed touting crackdown on Friday. It has resulted in 685 account holders being banned from Old Trafford. There were 468 cases resolved satisfactorily, while 226 supporters have been given a final warning.
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Kevin Garside: Man Utd’s very own Erling Haaland might just save Michael Carrick Man Utd: Fans should be concerned by Michael Carrick’s reaction to Everton drawUnited weren’t the only club to target ticket touts this summer, with officials insisting they needed to address such a stain on the game. Real supporters, by and large, agree.
Yet others insist it is part of a wider attempt to force season-ticket holders out in favour of attracting tourists, who spend much more money on matchday than regulars.
United remain adamant that any banned season-ticket holder will be replaced by another season ticket holder, and no financial gain is to be had from all of this. There will nevertheless be plenty of critics on the picket line on Sunday.
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