Sir Jim Ratcliffe told to ‘end the WAR’ on Man United season ticket holders by angry fans as they call on co-owner to freeze prices
Manchester United fans have called on Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his fellow co-owners to freeze ticket prices at Old Trafford, amid the club’s ongoing war with season ticket holders.
Ratcliffe has instigated a raft of cuts since his £1.3billion minority takeover, including upsetting fans by increasing prices to £66 in the middle of the season and scrapping concessions for children and pensioners.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) penned an open letter on Monday to urge Ratcliffe and Co to put a stop to the price rises, fearing there could also be widespread increases in the summer, and telling Ratcliffe to ‘end the war’ on season ticket holders.
MUST also demanded that a major reset of relations between fans and the club is critical, claiming that their relationship with fans is currently at a ‘low ebb’.
The club only raised fears after their response to protest group The 1958 and fan coalition FC58, who wrote to United last week urging them not only to freeze season ticket prices but also consider reducing them.
The United chiefs urged in their reply that the club are currently ‘making a significant loss each year’ – £300million over the past three years – and that they have ‘difficult choices to make’ to escape the unsustainable financial situation.
Man United fans have called on Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his fellow co-owners to freeze ticket prices
Man United fuelled ticket price rise fears having admitted the need for ‘difficult decisions’
Supporters are now claiming relations between fans and the club are currently at a ‘low ebb’
Mounting more pressure on the board to freeze prices, MUST also demanded change in an open letter, which, in part, read: ‘We write to you as representatives of the Manchester United supporter community, united in our love for the Club and driven by our collective desire to see Manchester United succeed on and off the pitch.
‘As you consider forthcoming decisions on match ticketing policies and pricing, we urge you to pause and carefully reflect on the timing, potential consequences, and long-term impact of any major changes.
‘We recognise the club ultimately makes these decisions but our intention here is to offer honest counsel, some of which your employees may be reluctant to deliver to you, to help inform these decisions. We also want to put this on public record in the form of an open letter to ensure supporters understand our position too.
‘Judging by your own public comments it seems you may have come to the conclusion that ticket pricing and policies are in need of a major review. However, we strongly believe that now is the worst possible time to implement significant changes.
‘With the team struggling on the pitch and fan sentiment already at a low ebb, we all need to pull together to lift the team’s performance, not risk deepening divisions or creating further dissatisfaction.’
MUST continued by urging that the rising ticket prices are having a negative effect on ‘fan sentiment’, ‘atmosphere’ and ‘team performance’.
The Red Devils found a crucial win on Sunday against Fulham at Craven Cottage, triumphing 1-0 over Marco Silva’s side to climb to 12th in the Premier League.
An overwhelmingly disappointing season so far has seen Manchester United sack former manager Erik ten Hag and bring in Ruben Amorim, who has struggled early in his Red Devils tenure and described his side as possibly the ‘worst’ in the club’s history last week.
Lisandro Martinez inspired Man United to a 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday
It proved a much-needed win for Ruben Amorim, who has endured a tough start at Old Trafford
On behalf of Red Devils chief executive Omar Berrada and director of fan engagement Rick McGagh, United urged in their statement last week that significant cuts and difficult decision will help restore the club to the summit of football.
‘We are currently making a significant loss each year – totalling over £300m in the past 3 years. This is not sustainable and if we do not act now we are in danger of failing to comply with PSR/FFP requirements in future years and significantly impacting our ability to compete on the pitch,’ the club wrote.
‘We will get back to a cash positive position as soon as possible and we will have to make some difficult choices to get there. That has included a significant reduction to our workforce as well as cuts across many areas of spend across our club.
‘None of this has been easy, but we believe it is essential to restoring financial sustainability to the club which will underpin us as we work to get back to the top of English and European football.
‘We do not expect fans to make up all the current shortfall – but we do need to look at our ticketing strategy to ensure we are charging the right amount, and offering the right discounts, across our products for our fans.
‘Once we have an approved strategy and pricing policy for the 25/26 season we will communicate the details to all fans. At this time, no decisions have been taken and the process of consultation is beginning. Until we have an outcome we will not be commenting further regarding what may or may not change for next season.’
The club’s letter concluded by saying: ‘We are always happy to listen to fan-led ideas about ways to grow revenue so please do share any thoughts you have on this.’
