MANCHESTER UNITED’S match with Liverpool on Sunday was POSTPONED on safety grounds after fans broke into Old Trafford and invaded the pitch.
A new fixture date is yet to be announced with United and Liverpool set to talk to the Premier League.
United could face a points deduction or a whopping fine after the game was put back because the safety of the players could not be guaranteed.
Stay up to date with all the fall-out from Old Trafford in our live blog, below…
MAN CHARGED
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that a man has been charged following Sunday’s protest by Manchester United fans at The Lowry Hotel.
Supporters gathered outside the team’s hotel in Manchester, where the United squad was staying before the postponed derby against Liverpool, while others forced their way into Old Trafford to protest against the Glazer family, the club’s owners.
A statement from GMP read: “A man has been charged following a protest at The Lowry Hotel, Salford on Sunday 2 May 2021.
“Michael Anthony James Cusker (31/08/1992) of Winstanley Road, Manchester has been charged with throwing fireworks in a street, use of threatening behaviour and wilful obstruction of the highway.
“He has been bailed ahead of a court appearance at Manchester Magistrates Court on 25 May 2021.
“The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct to ensure complete transparency and independence in this investigation”
GLAZER PLAN
The Glazers look set to ignore the recent protests at Old Trafford and increase Manchester United’s value to $10bn (£7bn).
According to The Guardian, the billionaire United owners are planning to increase the club’s value by $6bn despite the ongoing tensions.
The American bigwigs caused global outrage, along with 11 other elite clubs, when they tried to form the controversial European Super League – a closed tournament that wouldn’t allow fair competition.
That led to a number of United fans and former players calling for the Glazers to sell the club and leave
SPEAKING OUT
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes top personalities like Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Paul Pogba would potentially like to address the scenes at Old Trafford.
Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five podcast: “I can feel someone like Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire or Paul Pogba will want to speak in their heart of hearts but, at the same time, it’s a tug of war, so it’s very difficult.
“This situation is slightly different as it’s more about football than just one club and the Super League was going to destabilise the whole pyramid and football in our country, so it’s a different situation and players put things out here and there.
“Sunday, I think the guys would have been sat in the hotel thinking ‘make the protest, we’re happy for you to do that, but please let us play’, that’s how the players would be thinking”
GETTY IMAGES
AWKWARD POSITION
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes players haven’t reacted to fan protests at Old Trafford because they want to concentrate on their football, and that puts them in an “awkward position”.
Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five podcast: “It’s a difficult one – I was there when the Glazers came and, as a player, you’re in a really awkward position as we don’t want to be a part of the business end of the club.
“We’re there just to play football, we don’t want to be caught up in the politics. All the players want to do is go to training, get ready for a match and go out in front of fans around the world and win – that’s all you’re concerned with.
“All this extra stuff, it’s stressful enough just playing and you don’t want all this extra stuff going on – I have to be honest, that’s how you thought.
“Yes, there’s a right side and a wrong side as well, but you just want to play football and be the best you can be for the club. The problem you have as a player is, if you do speak out, what then happens? Do you get sacked, fined or told to leave the club?”
JOR DROPPED
Simon Jordan has slated Gary Neville for ‘calling on a lynch mob’ and defending the violent Old Trafford protests.
Manchester United supporters marched outside the ground on Sunday to voice their anger at the Glazer family’s ownership, eventually getting the fixture against Liverpool postponed.
Jordan, appearing on talkSPORT, hit out at the pundit for ‘egging on’ the demonstrations.
He said: “There is a building narrative, and I think some of this was brought on by certain people egging on this outlook, whether it’s the media or certain pundits who have a lot to say for themselves in a very irresponsible fashion.
“I don’t care what people like Gary Neville come out with, calling on a lynch mob and start talking about how there is an entitlement for fans to do this.
“No way is there an entitlement to attack police officers, no way is there an entitlement to break into a football pitch, climb on to goals, break into hospitality and smash up environments purely and simply because you think you’ve got a cause.”
GLAZED OVER
Manchester United could finally be sold by the Glazer family, following furious fan protests.
But only if a prospective buyer can pay up to £4billion.
According to The Times, the Glazers would realistically demand as much as £3bn to sell up – making a tidy profit in the process.
A new owner could also then be punished for the amount of debt accrued under the Glazers’ watch – being confronted by lenders invoking a ‘change-of-control’ clause – which could add another £1bn onto the overall bill.
The Glazer siblings are reportedly ‘split’ on what to do with the club.
Joel Glazer has been the key decision-maker, playing a big part in the European Super League breakaway attempt.
Banker Jim O’Neill, 64, has been linked with a takeover in the past – and his name could come up again if the Glazers do ultimately decide to sell up.
STANDING THEIR GROUND
Arsenal and Manchester United’s unpopular owners are no strangers to batting off angry fans to keep their place in charge, fans have been warned.
Dr Dan Plumley of the Sheffield Business School at Sheffield Hallam University has told PA Media of the Glazers and Stan Kroenke’s history of being thick-skinned.
He said: “One thing we know from history with American involvement in football clubs – and we’ve seen it at Arsenal – they do stand their ground, they are pretty stubborn.
“That is rooted in the way their sports are run. Stan Kroenke picked up the Rams and moved them [from St Louis to Los Angeles] and nobody can tell you you can’t.
“You upset a full state by moving it, but if you’re prepared to do that then you can do it – you’re the owner. That’s just not the English model and that’s been the cause of the friction over the last few weeks.”
Plumley added: “There’s a potential for this sort of protest to cause damage to the valuation of the club. The angle is to hurt the Glazers in the pocket, but it won’t do too much, to be brutally honest.”
Credit: PA REPEAT PERFORMANCE
Fans could target the rescheduled clash with Liverpool to protest over the Glazer family again.
Around 200 fans entered Old Trafford just hours before the Red Devils were due to face Jurgen Klopp’s side on Sunday.
The Times claim the ‘fans who broke into Old Trafford on Sunday are planning further attacks’ as they continue to vent their fury over ‘the Glazer family’s ownership and their support for the aborted European Super League’.
They state that planning for more demonstrations is ‘under way’ already and United’s home clash with Leicester on May 12 and the rearranged Liverpool game both being potential targets.
BOYCOTT
Manchester United are back on social media today after a weekend boycott.
The club have vowed to fight online abuse and have their own portal for fans to report problematic posts.
DEADLINE
We are still awaiting the official word on the new date for Manchester United versus Liverpool.
Making life difficult is the fact that the Red Devils feature in every midweek in May until the season ends on the 23rd.
This Thursday is the Roma game before May 12 is the game with Leicester, moved forward due to the Foxes’ appearance in the FA Cup final.
On Wednesday May 19, Liverpool are due to face Burnley while Fulham are up fo United.
The season then ends the following weekend before the Europa League final that appears destined to feature Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
POLICE ALLEGATION
The man allegedly punched by cops during the Manchester United protests has been left with a broken jaw, his partner claims.
The 28-year-old was arrested as 200 fans blocked the entrance to the Lowry Hotel, Manchester, on Sunday, where the team was staying.
His partner told the Manchester Evening News: “I’ve been ringing [the non-emergency police number] 101 since 6pm yesterday and they couldn’t tell me anything except he was in a police station in Pendleton.
“Then today they said he was in hospital but they couldn’t tell me why or which hospital. I got a call from him at 12.50pm and he said he was going in to be interviewed [by police].
“They’ve broken his jaw and fractured his ribs. It’s absolutely disgusting – they didn’t need to punch him the way they’ve done.”
RATINGS
Sky Sports viewers tuned in en masse to watch the unfolding events at Old Trafford on Sunday.
According to Daily Star, 1.4 million watched the channel’s coverage of the pitch invasion as it preceded the Manchester United versus Liverpool game.
That even tops the figures some matches attain and is far higher than the typical pre-game show.
An average of around 1.9 million tune in to Sky Premier League games.
Credit: Reuters SKY’S THE LIMIT
Gary Neville has formed a ‘pundits army’ WhatsApp group in the aftermath of the failed European Super League, according to reports.
The Manchester United legend and Sky Sports analyst played a prominent role in publicly fighting the ESL during its short-lived launch.
For the good of the game, he is stepping across broadcasting lines to unify with BT Sport pundits.
The former England star has created a WhatsApp group, featuring some of the biggest names in UK punditry.
Alongside his fellow Sky Sports stalwart Jamie Carragher, Neville has introduced the likes of Gary Lineker, Rio Ferdinand, Steve McManaman and Jake Humphrey from BT to the chat.
According to the Mail, these pundits recognise that they can play a huge part in protecting the values that fans hold dearest in the game.
CARRA UNITY
Jamie Carragher has urged fans to stand together against hated owners such as the Glazers after Sunday’s protest.
The Liverpool hero spoke of Reds fans criticising their United rivals during the episode – and insisted that is not good for the game.
He told Sky Sports: “There will always be idiots, who get involved in things. What Manchester United fans have done. I think it’s a good thing.
“I have seen it before with Liverpool fans, at times. One clip goes everywhere and there are lots of other people doing really good things.
“I don’t want to use this for supporters, from all different clubs, scoring points from Manchester United. I don’t like to see it with my own in Liverpool.
“Liverpool fans got owners out previously. Now, you do it in different ways. I have got Liverpool fans texting me right now saying ‘we never went onto the pitch’. It’s what I said before that I don’t like it, all of this point scoring.”
Credit: Sky Sports GOING NOWHERE
The Glazer family are described as intent on seeing out their ‘long-term plan’ at Manchester United despite Sunday’s protests.
A report in the Guardian outlines their mega-money ambition.
With the club currently worth just over £3billion, the Americans are said to want to grow it into a £7.2billion ($10bn) empire.
STAFF FEAR
One ‘drunken’ fan left support staff concerned for their safety after reportedly rushing into the Manchester United dressing room on Sunday.
As the protest pitch invasion began, team doctors and kit staff more were gathered inside the ground preparing for the Liverpool game.
But they were shocked when one protestor, according to the Mail, rushed in and began shouting at them.
GOOD MORNING MAN UTD FANS
The Manchester United Supports Trust published an open letter to United co-owner Joel Glazer yesterday.
In the letter, the trust say: “No-one wants what happened at Old Trafford Sunday to be a regular event.
“We are football fans and we want to support our team. We don’t want to spend our days off work protesting outside our football ground.
“But what happened was the culmination of sixteen years in which your family’s ownership of the club has driven us into debt and decline, and we have felt ever more sidelined and ignored.
“After sixteen years not one member of the Glazer family has ever had so much as a conversation with us, the club’s Supporters Trust. Yesterday, that frustration reached boiling point.
“For the vast majority of the thousands of attendees at the protest they made their voice heard peacefully and respectfully. We support the right of fans to protest lawfully and, although we did not personally witness any such acts, of course we do not condone any acts of violence.”
United released a statement in response to Sunday’s protests and refuted the idea supporters were allowed into the stadium by club staff.
It read: “Following events yesterday, while many fans wanted to exercise their right to protest and express their opinion peacefully, some were intent on disrupting the team’s preparation and the game itself, as evidenced by activity at the Lowry Hotel and at the stadium.
“Reports in mainstream and social media that protesters were able to access the stadium and pitch via a gate opened by club staff are completely incorrect.
“After breaking through barriers and security on the forecourt, some protestors climbed the gates at the end of the Munich tunnel, then forced access to a side door in the stand, before opening an external door that let others through to the concourse area and the pitch.
“A second breach occurred when a protestor smashed the door of a disability access lift, enabling a group to enter the stand. The majority of our fans have and will condemn criminal damage, along with any violence towards club staff, police or other fans, and these now become a police matter.
“The club has no desire to see peaceful protestors punished, but will work with the police to identify those involved in criminal activity, and will also issue its own sanctions to any season ticket holder or member identified, per the published sanctions policy.”
The most likely course of action will be that Liverpool’s trip to West Brom, scheduled for May 16, will now be brought forward by four days to May 12, when United are due to be playing Leicester.
That will allow the rescheduled clash of the north-west giants to be played at Old Trafford on Sunday, May 16.
Elsewhere, the Premier League and FA have vowed to crush the Super League plotters if they attempt another breakaway.
In a move to reassure fans the threat has been killed off for good, the FA launched an inquiry by demanding full and frank answers from Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and the two Manchester giants.
And the Premier League promised it will change its rulebook to dismiss any possibility of the rebels coming back for a second attempt.
A Prem statement read: “The Premier League has prepared a series of measures to enshrine the core principles of the professional game an open pyramid, progression through sporting merit and the highest standards of sporting integrity.
“These measures are designed to stop the threat of breakaway leagues in future.”
The Big Six are facing disrepute charges for their parts in the attempted coup. FA top brass are understood to feel heavy fines are more likely, rather than punishments that would hit the fans such as points deductions.
BREAKAWAY BAN
The Premier League and FA have vowed to crush the Super League plotters if they attempt another breakaway.
In a move to reassure fans the threat has been killed off for good, the FA launched an inquiry by demanding full and frank answers from Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and the two Manchester giants.
And the Premier League promised it will change its rulebook to dismiss any possibility of the rebels coming back for a second attempt.
A Prem statement read: “The Premier League has prepared a series of measures to enshrine the core principles of the professional game an open pyramid, progression through sporting merit and the highest standards of sporting integrity.
“These measures are designed to stop the threat of breakaway leagues in future.”
The Big Six are facing disrepute charges for their parts in the attempted coup. FA top brass are understood to feel heavy fines are more likely, rather than punishments that would hit the fans such as points deductions.
TA CARRA
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has defended Manchester United fans from ‘lazy’ criticism over Sunday’s Old Trafford protest.
The majority of pundits appeared to lend their backing to the angry group of protestors as the game was eventually postponed. But ex-Red Graeme Souness wasn’t too positive, saying: “I think (the anger) is out of United not being top dogs as much as what happened (with the ESL) last week.”
However, fellow Sky Sports pundit Carragher has dismissed Souness’ comments as ‘lazy’, claiming United fans had every right to be angry and protest. He responded on Monday Night Football: “I really want to get this message across. This is not the European Super League for me.
“The supporters who really felt this more and marched on stadiums (after Super League) are Manchester United and Arsenal – that’s because they had a huge problem with their owners before this.
“I’ve listened to a lot this morning and I watched other things. I’ve got no problem with people having a different point of view or a different opinion from me, because it’s nuanced what happened yesterday. But get the facts. Please. When you are going to talk about this, know what’s going on.
“So let’s not accuse Manchester United fans of just throwing the toys out the pram because they’re not competing with [Manchester] City or in the Champions League, whatever it may be. That is absolute nonsense.”
G NEV WANTS FOOTBALL TO SUPPORT PROTEST
Gary Neville believes all football fans should support the United protesters.
Speaking yesterday, the former United defender said: “Look, I’ve never thought they were brilliant owners but I have seen in football that there are worse owners than the Glazer family.
“However, I think all football fans should unite today behind what Manchester United fans have done because honestly, what they [the owners] did two weeks ago was really dangerous for English football, we must not forget that.
“They tried to create a famine two weeks ago in English football, in Dutch football, in German football, in French football, all over Europe.
“Those 15 clubs would have walked away from their leagues with their money and basically destroyed the ethos of the pyramid of relegation and promotion in English football, so that’s number one.”
CROSSED THE LINE – EXCLUSIVE
By Sarah Ridley and Daniel Hammond
A protester who ran across the Old Trafford pitch with a Manchester United corner flag was later filmed sniffing a suspicious white powder off it.
In scenes that will do nothing for his cause, he was shown outside the ground emptying the substance on the bottom of the pole. After appearing to snort it, he holds up the flag — bearing the club’s crest — and shouts “United” while laughing into the camera.
The video was shared on Snapchat with a laughing emoji and a caption reading: “Striped off the flag.”
Sunday’s demo saw 1,000 fans gather outside the stadium to protest at the club owners, the US-based Glazer family, in the wake of the failed European Super League proposals.
Around 100 stormed the pitch. Others massed at the hotel where United players were staying. The match against Liverpool was postponed. Police said six officers were hurt, including one who suffered a fractured eye socket and another whose face was slashed.
SHEARER SLAMS PROTESTERS
Alan Shearer has criticised the protesters at Old Trafford yesterday.
Discussing the events on Match of the Day, the former Newcastle striker said: “I understand the fans’ frustration and their anger.
“Totally acceptable because of what has gone on in the last 10 days or two weeks with the European Super League.
“Football was nearly taken away from us as we known and as we have known it forever. I’m all for protesting but not like that, you can’t protest like that.
“We’ve seen other fans protesting at other football clubs because they’re not happy but when you get fans breaking into stadiums, hurting police officers, smashing glass to get into hospitality, that’s not the way to do it, it’s not acceptable.”
MAYOR STATEMENT
Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has released a statement regarding yesterday’s protest at Old Trafford.
The statement reads: “I fully understand the long-standing concerns of Manchester United supporters about both the ownership and financing of their club and the wider running of football.
“These concerns have been building for a long time and it is essential that those running the club and the game listen to them.
“It is important to make clear that the majority of supporters made their protest peacefully today.
“However, there is no excuse for the actions of a minority who injured police officers and endangered the safety of others.
“I send my best wishes to the police officers who have been hurt in the course of their duties this afternoon.”
UNDER ATTACK
The copper slashed in the face with a bottle during the chaos at a protest by Manchester United fans is ‘incredibly lucky’ to have not lost sight in his eye, Greater Manchester Police Federation said.
The police constable, with around 20 years service under his belt, suffered a ‘significant’ slash wound to his face during Sunday’s demonstration at Old Trafford.
The unidentified officer remains unnamed by the Federation – which represents the force’s rank-and-file – but they did confirm he is in “lots of pain” and will need a considerable period off work to recover.
The largely peaceful protest spilled into incidences of violence, with Greater Manchester Police confirming two officers were injured – explaining one had been ‘attacked with a bottle and sustaining a significant slash wound to his face, requiring emergency hospital treatment’.
The violence was condemned by GMP and the club as ‘reckless and dangerous’ as some football fans took the demonstration too far.
Stu Berry, Chairman of the Federation, said: “Our brave colleague went to work yesterday to keep the people of Greater Manchester safe – and he ended up coming under attack. He is incredibly lucky not to have lost the sight in an eye. This is not right.”
FANS PUBLISH OPEN LETTER TO JOEL GLAZER
The Manchester United Supports Trust have published an open letter to United co-owner Joel Glazer.
In the letter, the trust say: “No-one wants what happened at Old Trafford yesterday to be a regular event.
“We are football fans and we want to support our team. We don’t want to spend our days off work protesting outside our football ground.
“But what happened was the culmination of sixteen years in which your family’s ownership of the club has driven us into debt and decline, and we have felt ever more sidelined and ignored.
“After sixteen years not one member of the Glazer family has ever had so much as a conversation with us, the club’s Supporters Trust. Yesterday, that frustration reached boiling point.
“For the vast majority of the thousands of attendees at the protest they made their voice heard peacefully and respectfully. We support the right of fans to protest lawfully and, although we did not personally witness any such acts, of course we do not condone any acts of violence.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
