Manchester United Supporters Trust have launched legal action over the decision to cut their away support allocation after the club had already sold the tickets for their clash with Chelsea on October 22nd.
The gameβs time was unconfirmed before the tickets went on sale, with no broadcast slots left and European commitments making finding a suitable time for the clash difficult. As a norm, sides in the Europa League play on Sundays to avoid a short turnaround, but Chelsea are in action in Austria on Tuesday evening, making such a decision problematic.
In the end, a decision was made to play the game on Saturday evening, but it meant cutting the no. of tickets on offer to travelling fans to just 2300, with a Met Police statement explaining that
βThe clubs were unable to agree to an earlier kick-off due to concerns about TV commitments, so an alternative solution had to be found,β
βAt a meeting of the Safety Advisory Group, a compromise was reached that involved the clubs agreeing to reduce the away ticket allocation to 2,370 which, in turn, changed the risk rating of the fixture from high to mediumβ they added.
London, UK. 20th Oct, 2018. a general view as Fans make their way into Stamford Bridge prior to kick off. Premier League match, Chelsea v Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London on Saturday 20th October 2018. this image may only be used for Editori PX924N London, UK. 20th Oct, 2018. a general view as Fans make their way into Stamford Bridge prior to kick off. Premier League match, Chelsea v Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London on Saturday 20th October 2018. this image may only be used for Editorial purposes. Editorial use only, license required for commercial use. No use in betting, games or a single club/league/player publications. pic by Steffan Bowen/ Credit: Andrew Orchard sports photography/Alamy Live News (Alamy Stock Photo)
βWhile we accept that this may disappoint and inconvenience some fans, it was not the only option available to the clubs and was not a decision taken directly by the police.β
βFor a Supporters Trust to engage lawyers is always a last resort, but enough is enoughβ, they explain in a statement.
βUnited fans, and football supporters in general, have had their fill of being on the receiving end of unfair and irrational decisions by Councils and the Police who seem to consider us to be a public order problem rather than ordinary people freely enjoying a day out.
βTickets had been sold for this game and fans are being treated like second-class citizens.β
βThe police initially sought to cut our allocation from 2,994 to 1,500,β they added. βWe have strongly opposed any reduction and worked with Chelsea to present a range of mitigations to the local Safety Advisory Group, which we believe could have allowed the game to proceed safely with our full allocation of fans.β