On this day five years ago, Manchester United’s Premier League meeting with Liverpool was postponed after fans protested and took to the Old Trafford pitch in anger against the Glazers.
The relationship between Manchester United fans and the Glazer family has been toxic for over two decades.
From the debt-ridden takeover in 2005 to over a decade of gross mismanagement, there is no path to redemption for the American family among the Old Trafford faithful – regardless of what co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says.
While there have been many anti-Glazer demonstrations down the years, none were as impactful as the 2021 Old Trafford protest.
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Man Utd vs Liverpool postponed after fans react to European Super League proposal
United fans successfully protested against BSkyB’s takeover attempt between 1998/99, but they were not as lucky when the Glazers completed their takeover in February 2005.
The next biggest protest was an iconic one.
In April 2021, there was widespread unrest as plans for a breakaway European Super League came to light. The proposals were backed by most of Europe’s biggest clubs, including United, triggering a wave of outrage.
There were protests at other Premier League grounds such as Stamford Bridge, but nothing to the level of what occurred at Old Trafford.
It started when a group of fans, who call themselves the ‘Men in Black’, stormed Carrington training ground (much to the amusement of one Serbian midfielder), and others showed up outside the house of former vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
In early May, United were due to host Liverpool in the Premier League. It was during a period when COVID-19 restrictions meant fans were not allowed into stadiums.
Fans planned a protest for the game as approximately 200 fans began protesting outside Manchester’s Lowry Hotel, where the United squad regularly visited before games and tried to prevent the team coach.
More than 1,000 fans fled to Old Trafford as hundreds gained access to the stadium, even getting on the pitch.
Although the match was scheduled to be broadcast on Sky Sports, it had to be postponed because the teams couldn’t get into the stadium.
The GMP later stated that 10 arrests were made.
It was a spectacular protest that halted the biggest match of the season.
The 1958 have launched a blistering attack on the way Sir Jim Ratcliffe is running Man Utd
What is your view? Have your say and don't hold back!
“After lurching from one disaster to another, Ratcliffe comes across as an incompetent clown turning the club into a circus. Instead of best in class we’re a laughing stock.”
The 1958
European Super League plans are no more
Although United and other Premier League clubs backtracked on the European Super League, Real Madrid took longer to back down from the plans.
In February of this year, UEFA and Real Madrid reached an agreement to end a nearly five-year dispute.
Real Madrid, along with United, were among the chief architects of the breakaway project.
Unlike Real Madrid, United withdrew within days amid fan and Government pressure.
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