They weren’t the ones we expected to see on the pitch this afternoon. Hundreds of Manchester United supporters managed to invade the lawn at Old Trafford Stadium on Sunday 2 May, causing their team’s match against Liverpool to be postponed, counting for the 34e Premier League day, at an undetermined date.
These Mancunian supporters wanted to express their opposition to Avram and Joel Glazer, American owners of the club, son of its former owner, Malcolm Glazer.
“Our supporters are passionate and we fully recognize the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest. However, we regret the setback caused to the team and the actions which put other fans, employees and the police in danger ”, criticized the club. In a separate statement, the Premier League lamented “The actions of a minority seen today (which) have no justification”.
Several thousand Mancunian supporters met at 3 p.m. to demonstrate around the stadium. “You can buy our club but you cannot buy our heart and soul”, could be read on a banner, while the fans wore, for many of them, the colors green and gold, which have become symbols of the protest against the Glazer brothers.
These colors indeed evoke Newton Heath, a club founded in 1878 which would become Manchester United twenty-four years later. They lit smoke bombs, climbed the cages and in the stands singing “We want the Glazers to leave.”
Tense context
At the same time, in the city center, a demonstration was held in front of the hotel where Manchester United players were gathered to prevent the buses from leaving.
In a context that has always been tense with the Glazer family, the recent episode of the project of a dissident European Super League, with which the Red Devils were initially associated, has increased the pressure a few notches.
The club announced, shortly after throwing in the towel for the Super League, the departure at the end of the year of Ed Woodward, the executive vice-president and representative of the Glazers at the club, symbol of all evils for the fans.
The meeting between Manchester United and Liverpool could decide the title of champion of England this season. In the event of a defeat, Manchester United would indeed no longer have been able to catch up with Manchester City, first, four days from the end. Citizens, who put the bottles of champagne in the fridge, will therefore have to wait to celebrate this new title, two days before their semi-final return of the Champions League against PSG.