‘Kick in the Teeth’—Man Utd Slammed As Tension With Supporters Grows | OneFootball

The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) has hit out at the club for the latest round of price rises, which they claim will see the cost of an average ticket rise by more than 50%.

United have introduced a new Match Categorisation Model, separating fixtures into different categories and handing out new prices relating to the significance of the fixture in question, with games against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City set to command as much as £97 ($130) for non-season ticket holders.

While the 50,000+ season ticket holders will not be impacted by these changes, United regularly welcome around 20,000 matchday ticket purchases every game, with MUST claiming those supporters are facing price hikes of over 50%.

Last season’s announcement of a flat-rate £66 ticket, which came without prior consultation with supporters groups, sparked significant protests and an admission from CEO Omar Berrada that United would “try to avoid” such a situation in the future, but MUST accuse the decision-makers of once again breaching fan trust.

“After how last season went, we might have hoped the Club would reconsider their plans for this new ticketing model which will see eye-watering price increases for 20,000 supporters per game who buy tickets on a match-by-match basis,” a statement read. “This really is a fresh kick in the teeth for Manchester United fans.

Old Trafford is awash with local supporters and tourists on matchdays. / IMAGO/PPAUK

“When the Club said they were introducing this new model for Members tickets, we urged them to keep the majority of matches at current levels and only apply the highest price category for a small number of the biggest games, and reduced prices for lower demand games. Once again, they have failed to consult any of the fans representative bodies on the details of the decision, and once again they’re making choices against the interests of fans and, we believe, the Club as a whole.

“The Club’s stated commitment to fan representation is fine in principle, but once again is not being delivered in practice. The structure is in place, and the Fans Forum and FAB representatives are doing their job, but the Club are not adhering to their previous commitment to proper consultation and that needs to change and change fast.

“What Manchester United needs next season is a united fanbase and Club, with the team on the pitch supported by loyal and vocal fans roaring it back after the disaster that was last year. These ticketing decisions only push those regular supporters away in favour of occasional visitors and risk pricing out the next generation of younger fans who are the very future of the Club. This Match Categorisation model will do enormous harm and undermine the atmosphere in the ground in a season when the team will need it more than ever.”

The price rise is the latest in a long line of controversial decisions designed to raise funds by United. Last season’s ticket twist proved hugely unpopular, while multiple rounds of staff redundancies have seen morale plummet.

Fans have continued to protest against the management of new operating owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has insisted the club’s previous spending habits would have led to bankruptcy in just a few years.

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