Manchester United fans protest against club's ownership - 'The way you treat us is a disgrace'

Manchester United fans made their frustrations clear to the club's ownership by staging a protest ahead of the Manchester derby over a controversial crackdown on ticket touting.

As players walked onto the pitch, a banner was unveiled reading: "The way you treat us is a disgrace."

The protest followed the club's confirmation that 685 season tickets had been revoked as part of an investigation into reselling, a process that swept up numerous innocent supporters alongside genuine offenders.

Despite United's claims of having dismantled organised touting networks, the heavy-handed approach provoked widespread condemnation, with many feeling unjustly targeted.

Outside the Bishops Blaize pub near Old Trafford, supporters lit green and gold flares while singing anti-Glazer songs and directing equally forceful chants at co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The 1958 fan group had earlier in the week rallied supporters to attend, describing the situation as a "season ticket ban fiasco" and insisting that a "line has been crossed".

One prominent banner read: "You take it all from fans and banning us for nothing. Premium prices all for greed."

The word "premium" was styled to mimic Amazon's logo, while "all and nothing" was deliberately highlighted, referencing the documentary series currently being filmed at the club.

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The Red Army supporters' group announced on the eve of the match that it would withdraw its traditional flag display for the City fixture in direct response to the club's touting investigation.

Fans carried their protest through the Munich tunnel at Old Trafford, gathering at the directors' entrance where chants of "we want Glazers out" rang out.

United acknowledged last month that an independent firm had been brought in to review activity on the club's ticketing platform between March and June, which it said had "uncovered significant and organised touting".

However, the club also admitted that the investigation had "caused significant concern and distress for some supporters".

In a further concession, United recognised they had "underestimated how common sharing account usernames and passwords was" among fans.

The club also accepted "that some fans may have felt they were being treated unfairly" throughout the process.

The protest came before United's 1-0 defeat to their noisy neighbours, Manchester City.

The Citizens were reduced to 10 men after Phil Foden was sent off but scored a controversial winner through Erling Haaland.

United are left with just four points from their first 12 in a poor start to Michael Carrick's first full season in charge.

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