IMUSA News
'Everyone is entitled to their opinion' says Sir Alex
23rd January 2010
Manchester United supporters are nothing if not imaginative and there are a good number of anti-Glazer songs. None however make reference to their nationality or religion and none are racist or homophobic in any way.
The objection to the Glazers is because of the $1 billion debt they have inflicted on the club and what this is doing to us, not because of who they are.
Thanks to the revelations in the bond brochure showing how deep the financial mire Manchester United is really in, Sir Alex recognises in today’s match program that
“The family of Manchester United is under pressure as a result of all the issues and controversies surrounding the ownership and financial situation”
and goes on to say that
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion and to express disapproval if they don't like what they see around them. Just as it has always been the right of the fans to let it be known if they are not happy with the way their team are playing.”
These are fine words but in making these statements, Sir Alex seems not to be aware of the zero tolerance towards the showing of anti-Glazer flags or that our members are being ejected and having their season tickets confiscated after having been accused of singing anti-Glazer songs.
Incredibly, this has been happening at times when practically the whole stadium was singing them.
Season tickets cost hundreds of pounds, yet can be confiscated on a whim.
Stewards are not clearly marked and more often than not fail to identify themselves properly.
No receipt is given and no information about how to go about getting the ticket back is provided.
There is no ‘due process'.
The decision about whether to return tickets is made by the director of venue and it sometimes takes him several weeks to do this, meaning that, in the interim, people cannot attend the matches that they have paid to attend.
Fans in this situation are given no opportunity to give their side of the story. There is no right of appeal and no automatic right to a refund if season tickets are permanently withdrawn.
This practice belongs to a different era and is not fitting for an institution of Manchester United’s stature or for a city like ours with its traditions of fighting for the cause of freedom.
It is time that a reasonable and transparent system was introduced for dealing with situations like this.
It is time that a club that calls its fans ‘customers’ started treating them with the dignity and respect that status deserves.
