PITCHED BATTLES
Man United fans force way into Old Trafford in violent protest at billionaire owners
MANCHESTER United fans broke into the club’s stadium yesterday during a violent protest, forcing the team to abandon its match against Liverpool.
Thousands of supporters had gathered outside Old Trafford to demonstrate against the club’s billionaire owners several hours before the game.
But while the stadium was still closed to fans in the early afternoon, about 200 of those protesting outside managed to get in.
In shocking scenes which evoked memories of a darker era of English football, a flare was thrown into the empty stands and camera equipment was smashed.
Two police officers were injured. One who was attacked with a bottle suffered a significant slash wound to his face and required emergency hospital treatment. Meanwhile, other protesters congregated around the Lowry Hotel in Salford – where the squad was waiting to head to the ground – and blocked the team’s coaches. The decision to postpone the Premier League match was taken an hour after the scheduled kick-off time of 4.30pm.
The incident is the angriest fallout so far from the short-lived decision several clubs’ owners made last month to join a breakaway European Super League.
The move – by England’s ‘Big Six’ clubs, including Man United and Liverpool – was widely panned by supporters and pundits and all six clubs quickly withdrew from the plans.
But the episode served as a catalyst for years of simmering anger at the American family – The Glazers – who bought Manchester United 16 years ago in a takeover heavily leveraged on debt.
It is believed that fans forced open a door in the south-west corner of the stadium which is used as access for medical staff, with stewards then quickly overwhelmed. Once inside, they went into a designated ‘ red zone’ accessible only to players and match officials under Covid protocols – shouting ‘We want Glazers out’.
‘Missiles’ were thrown at a TV crew and a fan was pictured grabbing a camera tripod from a media enclosure and hurling it to the ground. Protesters also filmed themselves climbing on top of one of the goals and holding corner flags aloft. There were angry scenes later as a line of riot police supported by officers on horseback moved in to clear a minority of violent protesters from outside Old Trafford, with bottles thrown and more flares let off.
The Premier League last night said it ‘condemned’ scenes of violence and breaches of Covid rules in scenes which it said ‘should have no place in football’.
Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson said: ‘The behaviour displayed today by those at both Old Trafford and The Lowry Hotel was reckless and dangerous.’