Man Utd protest against ownership before derby

WHAT HAPPENED
Thousands of Manchester United supporters staged protests against the club's ownership before and during the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, where United lost 1-0 to Manchester City. Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co-chair Avram Glazer were in the directors' box for the match, which saw City reduced to 10 men midway through the first half.

PROTESTS AND FAN GROUPS
Fans gathered outside the stadium with flares and entered via the Munich tunnel following a call from the 1958 Group. Inside, The Red Army displayed a single banner above the players' tunnel reading: "The way you treat us is a disgrace." The Red Army also warned that without a stronger voice for match-going supporters "the little that remains of our fan culture will soon be gone forever." The club declined to comment on the protests.

TICKET-TOUTING INVESTIGATION
A summer ticket-touting investigation has fuelled anger among match-going supporters. The club said 685 fan accounts had been banned and a further 464 were either sanctioned or warned. It added that 468 cases were resolved after supporters provided information and no further action was taken.

FINANCIAL CONTEXT
When Ratcliffe agreed on 24 December 2023 to invest £1.25bn for a minority stake he signalled a plan to stabilise the club. United's most recent accounts showed an overall debt of £1.3bn, including outstanding transfer fees. Since then the club has refinanced $425m (£314m) of bonds at a higher interest rate and taken an additional $125m (£92.4m), with the use of the extra funds not yet explained. United will publish full-year accounts to 30 June 2026 on 23 September.

ON THE PITCH
United have four points from their opening four Premier League matches, a tally the BBC says equals their worst start since 1992-93. The article notes that project chief executive Omar Berrada spoke to staff in September 2024 about an aspiration to win the Premier League in 2028. It also records that an overall transfer spend of £148m this summer followed last season's improvement after Michael Carrick's mid-season arrival, which helped secure a third-place finish.

REACTIONS
Steve Compton of the 1958 Group told the BBC: "We wanted the Glazers out and that will never change." He added that Ratcliffe "came in and gave us a glimmer, but his idea of putting Manchester back in Man Utd couldn't be any further from the truth." The Red Army and other groups said the ticket investigation had affected supporters' wellbeing.

Source: BBC Sport Football