‘Empty Old Trafford’ trends as Man Utd fans look to send Glazers a powerful message

Fans are looking to engineer a large-scale boycott similar to that of AC Milan in 2015

Manchester United fans are considering ramping up their protests over the Glazer ownership by staging a widescale boycott of Old Trafford. A demonstration against the owners resulted in an Old Trafford megastore being closed prior to their Premier League opener on Sunday. A video posted on Twitter by anti-Glazer fan account The 1958 shows a number of fans bearing a banner emblazoned with 'Fight for United' as fans call for the unpopular owners to sell the club. https://twitter.com/The__1958/status/1556241959517290497?s=20&t=J3DujwF3S9YTRj0O0orsgQ United suffered a 2-1 defeat by Brighton in their first Premier League game under new manager Erik ten Hag, having lost 4-0 to the Seagulls at the tail-end of last season under Ralf Rangnick. The result appears to have fueled resentment towards the Glazer family at the club. In the aftermath of the defeat, fans took to social media to call for a full boycott of the ground in order to send a powerful message to the American owners. 'Empty Old Trafford' was trending on Twitter today, with several people likening the proposed walk-out to similar AC Milan moves in 2015. https://twitter.com/Olu4all1/status/1556784027146850307?s=20&t=OnmlrOrNOpd78o6HapNIBA In March, the 80,000-plus-seat ground stood almost totally empty as fans stayed away, with the thunderous roar of the ultras in the Curvas noticeably absent. The empty stadium was part of a large-scale boycott engineered by the Curva Sud ultras group. The fans have become increasingly angry over the seeming ineptitude with which the Rossoneri had been run. After owner Silvio Berlusconi's daughter Marina cut the club off financially in 2010, the team started going downhill. Top-level players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva were sold. Their replacements were largely cut-price buys of over-the-hill players like Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari. Fans brandished banners including 'game over' and 'insert coin' in the stadium, where a smattering of young children were the only ones to turn up and watch the game. Earlier this year thousands of Valencia fans also walked out, leaving the stadium bereft of supporters. https://twitter.com/Sourav_Mufc/status/1556630904289693696?s=20&t=OnmlrOrNOpd78o6HapNIBA https://twitter.com/BoycottGlazers/status/1556886547739418624?s=20&t=OnmlrOrNOpd78o6HapNIBA A similar move in Stratford could see the 74,879 capacity fall silent for future games, with a mega clash with local rivals Liverpool in the offing. Taking to Twitter, several people have called on their fellow fans to "put your club first" and "stay outside". https://twitter.com/domeafavour_16/status/1556400194241142785?s=20&t=OnmlrOrNOpd78o6HapNIBA Others called for this to be more than just a social media stand, with the countdown to the Liverpool clash less than two weeks away. https://twitter.com/Patriot_FC/status/1556770816439844864?s=20&t=OnmlrOrNOpd78o6HapNIBA https://twitter.com/thejonnyross/status/1556645622455103488?s=20&t=OnmlrOrNOpd78o6HapNIBA In May, Manchester United fans walked out of Old Trafford in the 73rd minute of their game against Brentford as part of protest. Fans could also be heard chanting 'We want Glazers out while also holding up a series of banners and setting off flares as part of the demonstration. The protest was also organised by The 1958 group.

Related links:

• Rio Ferdinand refuses to sign Liverpool shirt after fan asks him at Craven Cottage
• Roy Keane questions Man United’s leadership after latest transfer link
• Dean Henderson calls Man United treatment ‘criminal’ in scathing assessment of club