Thousands of fans gathered outside Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground last Saturday afternoon to protest against the club’s current owners and the ownership structure. The recent failure of the European Super League plan has sparked a new round of protests and mass demonstrations aimed at preventing United's dominant owners, the Glazer family, from wielding unrestricted influence over the club's fate. United supporters are hell-bent on kicking the Glazers out of the club. Many people are calling for the government to regulate the adoption of the 50+1 ownership model in English football. The 50+1 model, which is used in Germany, ensures that fans retain majority ownership of a team, preventing investors like the Glazers from having a majority share. Fans swarmed around Sir Matt Busby's statue, waving signs that read "Glazers out" and "Unfit and inappropriate," politely but forcefully making their voices heard. Flares, banners and scarves were all made use of and if anyone had any doubt as to where the Red Devils faithful allegiance lies, they would not have to anymore. A fan in his teens held out a banner with “What is the offside rule, Joel?” written on it, to show the Glazer’s money mindedness with no knowledge as to how a football club should be run.
This wasn't just a reaction to the self-serving, covetous owners' assault on football last week. Or the empty apology that followed after United's heinous attempt to make them founding members of a "European Super League" collapsed like a deck of cards. This was a show of dissatisfaction with the Glazer ownership, which has been a source of contention for the club since its toxic leveraged takeover in 2005.
Here are some of the photos and fan reactions from the day:
