Manchester United fans joined forced outside Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon to protest both the Glazers’ ownership of the club along with the failed European Super League proposals.
United were one of 12 clubs to controversially confirm themselves as founding members of a new Super League on Sunday night - though those plans lay in tatters by Tuesday evening as all of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ pulled out after near-universal condemnation from both the worlds of football and politics.
Thousand of Arsenal fans protested outside the Emirates before Friday night’s Premier League defeat to Everton, with supporters furious with the club’s owner Stan Kroenke given the Gunners’ involvement in the Super League.
The next day, United supporters made their feelings clear about their own club’s hierarchy on the streets of Manchester with signs reading ‘Glazers Out’ and ‘United Against Greed’ outside the Theatre of Dreams.
A number of fans wore green and gold scarves - a symbol of the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust’s ongoing campaign for the removal of the Glazer family from the club. Those scarves were also placed around the statues of the club’s ‘United Trinity’ legends Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law, which stand outside Old Trafford.
Following United’s withdrawal from the competition just two days after its announcement, Ed Woodward, the club’s executive vice chairman, announced he would be stepping down at the end of 2021.
Woodward has been an unpopular figure among United fans for his perceived handling of managers and transfers, with the Red Devils’ last Premier League title coming back in 2013 with Sir Alex Ferguson in charge.
The club’s owners, the Glazer family, have also drawn the scorn of fans due to their leveraged takeover along with a downturn in trophies in recent years.
Angry supporters gained access to the club’s Carrington training complex on Thursday morning brought banners reading ‘Glazers out’ and ‘51% MUFC 20’ in reference to the model of ownership used widely in Germany.
Current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke to the group of around 20 fans at Carrington, and also publicly spoke out against the Super League as a “bad idea” following United’s exit.
United co-chairman Joel Glazer played a key role in the Super League plans and had been named a vice-chairman of the competition, but apologised to fans in an open letter stating: “We got it wrong”.
However, there was little sign of that apology being accepted by the fans who made their way to Old Trafford on Saturday to demand the Glazers’ resignation.
One sign had ‘Woodward Out’ crossed out, with ‘Glazers Out’ remaining to suggest that some fans will not be appeased by the impending exit of the executive vice chairman.
