‘We will not be silent’: Man Utd Supporters Trust lash out at club over ‘offensive’ ticketing decision
MANCHESTER UNITED have been slammed by supporters for their "offensive" decision to raise ticket prices to £66 per game.
Club chiefs controversially announced that tickets for members would rise to a minimum £66 regardless of age.
The club have insisted the move will not impact many fans, saying "97 per cent of tickets have already been sold with five age-related discounts".
However, the Man Utd Supporters Trust (M.U.S.T) have called that figure "misleading" and accused the club of not consulting the Fans Forum or Fan Advisory Board.
In a statement, M.U.S.T said: "The club has provided zero consultation on the matter, neither with the Forum nor the Fan Advisory Board nor MUST.
"We were simply informed of the decision that there will be price rises affecting certain fans that are 'urgently needed' to address profitability and sustainability concerns.
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"Suffice it to say, that the idea that the fans must pay their “fair share” for the club’s excesses and/or mismanagement—and above all, the Glazers lack of investment over two decades—is offensive.
"We fans have done everything we have been asked. We have cheered the players on even in the face of substandard performance.
"We have gone to matches and abided by the new usage rules for tickets. We have taken on a price increase this year.
"This is in addition to the hundreds, even thousands loyal fans pay to follow United home and away.
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"There is a risk that this is only the opening salvo of what will surely be massive pressure to implement a significant price rise for next season.
"Once they have got used to charging £132 for a parent and child to come to OT, will they really go back to the old pricing levels for next season?"
The statement continued by saying they object to the move in "the strongest possible terms" and it was a "step backward" based on previous talks between them and the club from before Ineos' arrival.
They added: "Over the coming days MUST will be seeking urgent discussions with the club to get them to listen to fans' concern at this policy.
"United fans have sucked up a lot. We will not be silent on this and we need to be prepared to resist any attempts to further drive up ticket prices."
M.U.S.T is the largest supporters group in the country with more than 200,000 members.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire revealed that a ticket in the Stretford End when he first went to Old Trafford in 1980 cost £1.50.
Ineos cut 250 jobs at the club over the summer in a bid to become more sustainable after taking a 25 per cent share in the club at the start of the year.
The club announced revenue for the quarter totalled £26.5million.
A separate supporters group, The 1958, have announced protest action alongside Everton fans before the clash between the teams on Sunday.
The group said it would display a banner before the game as part of their "#StopExploitingLoyalty" campaign in protest against the increase in ticket prices.
These actions will be echoed by Liverpool and Manchester City fans ahead of the 4:30pm game later in the day.
The statement said: "We said we would change the game for the betterment of our club and football. To ensure generational fans and communities are represented.
"This is just the start of key truly independent fan groups working together to represent the common fan on the street working closely with the FSA.
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"Real change takes courage. Real change takes passion. Real change takes dedication.
"We have big plans. We have big ambitions. We will be successful. Purpose - Action - Results."
M.U.S.T statement in full
Club put up remaining Members match tickets to £66 per game for remainder of season
Tonight the club informed the Fans Forum of changes to certain ticket policies that will take effect immediately. The Club has indicated that it will post the details of these changes online but the headline is that, with immediate effect, all Members tickets for the remainder of this season will increase to £66 each, and that this price will apply for kids and over-65s as well as adults.
This means that for an adult member to take their kid to a game in the remainder of this season will cost £132. Well over double the minimum price they could pay to do it today. And this change is happening overnight, immediately.
The Club claims that 97% of this season's tickets are already sold, so that this will only affect a small number of people, but we believe this stat is misleading, as we will explain below.
The Club has provided zero consultation on the matter, neither with the Forum nor the Fan Advisory Board nor MUST. We were simply informed of the decision that there will be price rises affecting certain fans that are “urgently needed” to address profitability and sustainability concerns.
Suffice it to say, that the idea that the fans must pay their “fair share” for the Club’s excesses and/or mismanagement—and above all, the Glazers lack of investment over two decades—is offensive.
We fans have done everything we have been asked. We have cheered the players on even in the face of substandard performance. We have gone to matches and abided by the new usage rules for tickets. We have taken on a price increase this year. This is in addition to the hundreds, even thousands loyal fans pay to follow United home and away.
There is a risk that this is only the opening salvo of what will surely be massive pressure to implement a significant price rise for next season. Once they have got used to charging £132 for a parent and child to come to OT, will they really go back to the old pricing levels for next season?
We are absolutely in favour of running a sustainable business, but football clubs are hardly ordinary consumer businesses. Ours is clearly in “rebuilding mode.” Moreover, it is not like we have options to take our custom elsewhere: we are not going to “choose another provider” like one might pick a telecoms company.
If the club has a need for short term capital they should issue new shares, as they did when INEOS first arrived, and bring in funding from existing or new shareholders.
We have objected to this action in the strongest possible terms, both for the action itself and the complete lack of consultation, which is a step backward based on the process we had agreed with the Club before INEOS’ arrival.
Over the coming days MUST will be seeking urgent discussions with the Club to get them to listen to fans' concern at this policy. United fans have sucked up a lot. We will not be silent on this and we need to be prepared to resist any attempts to further drive up ticket prices.
Many thanks for your continued support