Go a little deeper into the latest fallout between Manchester United and their fanbase, and it’s about more than just tickets, touts and technology. It has become an issue of trust.
Yes, United’s trust in supporters who say they have been made to feel like ‘suspects’ over the club’s purge on touting that has led to thousands of fans receiving emails over the last week warning that their accounts are being restricted and season tickets put at risk.
But, more significantly, it is once more testing the supporters’ trust in the club and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose intentions are under scrutiny again.
‘I feel angry about it – they just want us gone,’ one fan whose account has been affected told the BBC. Another said: ‘I feel like people are punished for their loyalty. They don’t want fans, they want customers.’
United have clarified that any season tickets cancelled as part of the crackdown will be resold as season tickets to fans on the waiting list. In other words, this is not an attempt by the club to make money or cut the number of season-ticket holders.
But fans aren’t convinced. They point to supporters being relocated from the South Stand to other parts of Old Trafford to create a VIP area behind the dugouts, or Ratcliffe’s decision to raise ticket prices to £66 and scrap concessions for OAPs and children, as evidence that regular match-going fans are being disregarded by the club.
Manchester United fans (pictured at a protest outside Old Trafford in February 2026) have long had issues with the club’s ownership
Many supporters feel disregarded by the club, who raised ticket prices to £66 and scrapped OAP concessions under Sir Jim Ratcliffe
As at other top clubs, there is a concern that tourists and day-trippers who are likely to spend longer in the stadium and more in the megastore will become increasingly valuable
Many are suspicious about what a new stadium will mean for the rank and file, even though in theory the capacity will grow to 100,000.
When plans for Ratcliffe’s grand ‘Wembley of the North’ were unveiled at the headquarters of Foster + Partners in London in March last year, the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust issued a statement challenging the club to make clear how it would impact ‘anxious’ supporters.
‘Will it drive up ticket prices and force out local fans? Will it harm the atmosphere, which is consistently fans’ top priority in the ground?’ MUST asked. ‘Until the questions are answered, our optimism about plans to make Old Trafford the biggest and the best again will be restrained by caution about what the consequences for fans might be.’
As at other top Premier League clubs, there is a concern that tourists and day-trippers who are likely to spend longer in the stadium and more in the megastore will become increasingly valuable in the long-term compared to the traditional fanbase who risk being priced out of the market.
It’s one of the reasons why United’s rather heavy-handed attempt to crack down on touts is being met with such anger and opposition. Fans see it as yet one more measure that makes life harder for them.
‘It’s just so cut-throat, you fear what’s coming next,’ one supporter told Daily Mail Sport. ‘Everything for match-going fans has been negative, there’s nothing positive. No glimmer of hope. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is steering the ship, it’s on him now.
‘I’m petrified of doing what I normally do. What happens before I’m deemed to be a tout too? The club are putting so much time and effort into doing this, there has to be an easier way to target the touts – or is the hope that when people get the emails, they’ve just had enough?’
The first wave of emails went out last week and a second followed on Monday night. It’s understood there might be two more yet. The messages notify season-ticket holders of suspicious activity on their accounts consistent with touts, and request information to satisfy the club there has been no wrongdoing. No sanctions are imposed until fans respond or fail to do so within 14 days.
‘There’s nothing positive. No glimmer of hope. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is steering the ship, it’s on him now’
Fans see the crackdown on ‘ticket touts’ as yet one more measure that makes life harder for them
United have brought in an external agency which uses automated monitoring to flag any potential infringements of the club’s terms and conditions. The club say that the subsequent reviews receive ‘human assessment’, and they understand the concern and distress that anyone receiving the email will have experienced.
United also insist they have a responsibility to remove touts and protect the integrity of their ticketing operation for all supporters. But suspicions remain and frustration grows with a month to go until the new season kicks off.
In the meantime, it’s business as usual at Old Trafford. United launched their new blue away kit on Wednesday, and will wear it in Friday’s second pre-season friendly against Rosenborg in Trondheim.
There were only 20,069 in Helsinki’s 36,000-capacity Olympic Stadium on Saturday for the opening game against Wrexham.
Proof perhaps that Manchester United are no longer the big draw they once were? Who knows. But food for thought as the club once again finds itself at odds with some of its most loyal supporters.
