Manchester United fans protested against the Glazer family before and during Sunday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa.a
Friday was the third, and what is expected to be final, deadline for interested parties to make offers to buy the club.
Impassioned football fans marched from Deansgate in Manchester City centre towards the football ground to make their voices heard.
Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe both submitted offers to the Glazers, who have faced fury from United fans since their leveraged takeover in 2005.
The 1958 – a United fan group that came to prominence last year – has led renewed protests and held another before the home match against Villa.
Leaving from The Old Nags Head in central Manchester, the march continued on to Old Trafford as fans displayed a giant banner reading ‘Full $ale Only’ – calling for the Glazer family to be removed from the club’s ownership entirely.
Hate Glazers love Manchester United#SellUnited Protests have just started pic.twitter.com/F9LYb2BMXq
— mikel kayz🇺🇬 (@mikelkayzug) April 30, 2023
The group marched from Deansgate onto Chester Road, before stopping at the Tollgate pub.
It then continued on to another stop outside the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST).
Finally, the group went on to Old Trafford and staged an 18 minute boycott of the match – “one minute for each year the Glazers have driven our club into the ground,” according to the 1958.
There were some visible empty seats at kick-off, but Old Trafford was largely full.
Smoke from the flares outside rose through the concourses and filled the air inside Old Trafford as the players warmed up.
Chants against the owners were heard from the outset and footage has emerged of manager Erik ten Hag briefly holding a green and gold scarf after Sunday’s 1-0 win.
Asked if background anger could make things harder for his side, the United boss said: “We felt really that the fans were behind us.
“So, we have to focus to be successful because that’s what the fans expect and they can expect.
“They have to rely on us, so we will focus on that.
“I’m sure when we keep performances like we do all season, the fans are behind us and there’s lot of energy and I think a really strong bond between the fans and the players.”
Update on yesterday 🧵
— The 1958 (@The__1958) May 1, 2023
Right, let’s clear a few things up on the protest yesterday along with every other protest for the last 20 years. This is going to be a long one so please bear with us.
Yesterday, was yet another protest against Glazer ownership.
Tweeting following the protest, the 1958 group said: “Yesterday, was yet another protest against Glazer ownership.
“We want them out of our club root and stem.
“That doesn’t mean 66% out, or out but some in that rotten family can still continue to bleed our club dry.
“They have taken more than enough over the last 18 years. The media is a circus with all the leaked stories from all sides.
“It’s currently a game of chess and nobody knows what is going to happen.
“One thing is certain though the protest yesterday was not about any bidder or preferred bidder. It was about removing Glazer from our club. Nothing else. Full sale means full sale of Glazer 69%.”
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