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A Sunderland fan found a mouse in the away end at Old Trafford on Saturday in another woe for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Manchester United.
The Red Devils’ famous old stadium – the biggest in English club football club – has come under intense scrutiny largely due to its leaking roof.
But in recent times United officials have had a different, perhaps more serious, issue to contend with – a mouse infestation.
The club saw its hygiene rating plummet last November to a worrying two-stars, with works taking place to restore Old Trafford to its former glory in the proceeding months.
Daily Mail Sport however revealed in May that an inspection by environmental health experts found that not much had changed. Mouse droppings were found in seven areas across the stadium at the end of last season including in the Ambassador Lounge, Manchester Suite, Number 7 suite and ‘under the buffet bar’.
And some five months on from that report, it seems United co-owner Ratcliffe’s mouse house problem is yet to be solved as a Sunderland supporter was left horrified to find a rodent near her seat in the away end on Saturday.
A Sunderland fan was horrified to find a rat in the away end at Old Trafford on Saturday
It comes after the ground was handed a two-star hygiene rating with mouse droppings cited as an issue
Old Trafford, with its leaking roof and mouse infestation, has been deemed substandard by United fans in recent season
Sharing a picture of the mouse trapped inside a cup, a fan wrote on X: ‘How dirty is Old Trafford?? Woman behind has just caught a mouse in the Away end at Old Trafford… I’m running out of things I’ve not seen at the match now…?’
Responding to reports of droppings found at the ground back in May, a Man United spokesperson said: ‘Manchester United implements a robust pest-control system throughout Old Trafford.
‘Multiple weekly checks are made in all catering areas and stringent measures are taken to ensure levels of hygiene and cleanliness are high wherever food is stored, prepared and served.
‘If incidences of this nature do occur at the stadium, immediate and appropriate action is taken.’
Old Trafford’s leaking roof has also been a source of criticism for, and a sign of neglect from, the Glazer family.
While leaks have not been as prominent this season – largely due to a lack of rainfall – at the end of last term, cascades of water flooded onto the Old Trafford pitch and seating areas after a fixture against Arsenal.
United are understood to have drawn up detailed plans to replace the roof on the ageing Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, and fix it in other areas of the ground, and this remains an option.
However, the club are unlikely to spend millions of pounds and several years on the project when the whole stadium could be knocked to the ground and rebuilt at a cost of £2billion.
In addition, the logistics of installing cranes over the railway line at the back of that stand means the work cannot be done during the season without severely restricting the match-day attendance.
