Rise in fans refused entry to old Trafford
THE number of fans refused entry to Old Trafford went up last season, but the number of arrests almost halved.
The United figures, showing the number of fans arrested, ejected or prevented from entering the stadium during the 2018-19 season,were submitted in documents to Trafford council as part of a safety certificate application.
Over the 31 matches/events that were held at Old Trafford during the 2018-19 season, 2,043,013 people visited the stadium.
One of those events was a rugby league match, another was a charity event and the rest were all United home games.
Over the course of those matches/ events, there were 27 arrests made by Greater Manchester Police in total – down from 45 the year before.
A total of 15 of the arrests in 2018-19 were of home supporters, seven were away team supporters and five were unspecified ‘neutral’ fans.
During the same period, 290 fans were ejected from Old Trafford’s grounds following interventions by stadium staff.
Some 163 of those were home fans, 113 away supporters and 14 ‘neutral’ that’s slightly less than the 293 fans ejected overall across the previous year.
Last season, 265 people were also refused entry to Old Trafford before or during the events. Of those, 171 were home fans, 90 were away fans and four were ‘neutral’ fans.
That was up on the year before when 224 people were turned away at the turnstiles during the 2017-18 season.
A spokesman for United explained there is ongoing dialogue between the club and supporter groups, including quarterly meetings of the Fans’ Forum where direct communication between senior club officials and supporters can take place.
Two-way feedback also happens on a weekly basis from match to match to set standards, refine working relationships and ensure respect runs both ways; which helps to manage behaviour. The stadium’s sanctions procedure to deal with and deter low level and serious issues is constantly under review.
The club also works closely with Greater Manchester Police and ensures proportionate responses when dealing with any incidents.
The number of arrests and ejections of fans at Old Trafford has decreased considerably overall since 2010, with fluctuations in between.
There were 226 arrests at the venue across the season 10 years ago, along with 366 ejections.
The document also shows figures for the number of staff and attendees that were medically treated across last season at Old Trafford.
Giving thanks to all medical staff involved at the venue, United bosses stated some 455 event attendees and 108 members of staff received treatment on site. Of those treated, 23 were children aged eight or under and a total of 34 people ended up being taken to hospital.