Manchester United have said that away fans in the home end at Old Trafford ‘cannot be stopped’ as the club faces severe backlash.
The club argue that they can’t ‘completely eliminate’ the possibility of away fans getting hold of tickets and entering parts of the stadium allocated to home supporters.
This comes after videos emerged on social media showing large groups of Rangers fans in the home end as United won 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Around 3,500 Rangers fans made the trip south and filled the away section. But many more were filmed celebrating as Rangers scored an 88th-minute equaliser.
Violent clashes then broke out in the home stands, with United fans taking exception to Rangers supporters in the wrong section.
I can’t quite believe how many Rangers fans were in the home end at Old Trafford last night…
Openly cheering when they scored too, crazy! 😨 pic.twitter.com/X4L7CwCzuJ
— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) January 24, 2025
In response, United say they had taken ‘strict’ measures to stop away fans getting tickets in the home end.
The club has insisted tickets could only be acquired by supporters on the club’s database.
But they did also accept that ‘unauthorised ticket touting’ meant they could not ‘completely eliminate’ the chance of away fans making it into the home end.
Manchester United Investigate Away Fans In Home End
In the aftermath of Thursday’s game against Rangers, Manchester United are set to launch a full investigation.
Then club says it will impose the ‘strongest possible sanctions against registered ticket holders found in breach of regulations.
Greater Manchester Police say they made 39 arrests throughout the night on Thursday. Twenty-six of these came after disorder in the city centre.
This isn’t the first time United have face criticism for allowing away fans in the home end, though.
In 2013, the club apologised after more than 2,000 Galatasaray fans made it into the home section for United’s Champions League clash against the Turkish side.
Galatasaray were then fined £44,420 as a result of their fans’ behaviour in the stadium.
