- The FA have denied United’s request to hand over 1,000 tickets to neutral fans
- Their request came after Arsenal failed to offer them the full 9,000 allocation
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Manchester United have failed in their bid to have 1,000 seats given to neutrals at this weekend’s FA Cup clash with Arsenal.
Officials at Old Trafford were left frustrated when, despite several pleas, they were only given an allocation shy of 8,000 – instead of the 9,000 they were entitled to under competition rules.
Safety concerns were raised as the reason behind the reduction, with the seats in question in an upper tier of the hosts’ 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium.
United had offered to handpick recipients, and ensure they went to families and children linked to the club’s charity arm. Their reasoning fell on deaf ears and, as a last resort, they complained to the FA.
With just days to go to Sunday’s 3pm kick-off, they suggested that the tickets in question be handed over to emergency services workers and those involved with FA grassroots projects.
However, Mail Sport understands that they have now been told that there is insufficient time to make such arrangements.
Manchester United’s plea for 1,000 tickets to be neutral at the Emirates has been denied
They were furious and complained to the FA after Arsenal failed to give them the full 9,000 away allocation
The section of the stadium is likely to be empty after their request for tickets to be given to emergency services was spurned
As a result, the section of the stadium involved is now likely to be empty.
Regardless, United will seek their share of the gate receipts for the section as though the seats had been sold, with tickets sales split between clubs in the FA Cup.
Arsenal’s view is that United have been handed a 13 per cent allocation, with competition rules stating ‘up to 15 per cent’ should be offered.
The decision was taken by the Safety Advisory Group, which involves club officials, council officers and members of the emergency services.
Last season, Liverpool were given a similarly reduced allocation amid concerns over persistent standing in the upper tier.
