It appears Ratcliffe’s relationship with many of United’s fans has been harmed too.
“Comments from the club’s senior leadership should make inclusion easier, not harder”, posted the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST).
Ghulam Haydar of the Manchester United Muslim Supporters’ Club (MUMSC) told Sport that Ratcliffe’s apology was “a first step”, but said he would like the 73-year-old to agree to a meeting with their members in order to provide some assurances.
“This is a global club… what’s he going to do to actually assure us that the club is a welcoming space for people of colour, people of migrant backgrounds?” he asked.
MUMSC has said it does not feel that Ratcliffe’s apology “sufficiently addresses the seriousness” of what was said.
“Expressing regret for causing offence is not the same as acknowledging the wider impact of words used. Leadership requires accountability as well as openness to debate.”
Kick It Out – which works to fight racism, sexism and homophobia in football and says overall reports about discrimination have risen again this campaign after last season’s record high, external – told Sport that it has already received a number of reports about Ratcliffe’s comments.
Having cut jobs and raised ticket prices, Ratcliffe was the subject of a protest by a supporter group just two weeks ago over the way the Ineos hierarchy has run the club since taking over football operations.
It will be interesting to see what kind of reception Ratcliffe receives when he next visits Old Trafford.
Uncertainty also surrounds the impact this could have on manager Michael Carrick – who will face questions about this issue for the first time when he addresses the media this week – along with United’s multi-national squad and its staff.
Despite United’s recent upturn in form since the appointment of the former midfielder, these are challenging times for Ratcliffe and his business Ineos, the petrochemicals firm he founded and leads.
Last week, he warned, external that “current conditions for Europe’s chemical industry are unsurvivable without immediate intervention”.
Those concerns were the reason Ratcliffe was at an industry summit in Antwerp. And they were clearly what he intended to talk about in an interview that instead ended up with him becoming at the centre of a fierce political storm.
It is a controversy that is unlikely to blow over quickly, and the true repercussions are yet to become clear.
