Man United fans hit out at Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos' brutal ticket price hikes as supporters send co-owners message during pre-match protest against West Ham
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Manchester United fans vented against Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos at Old Trafford on Sunday after a season of brutal ticket price hikes and controversy.
Supporters behind the dugout accused the club leadership of choosing 'money overloyalty' and 'evicting the United family over email'.
It comes after the news that United are converting the seats behind the dugouts into a lucrative VIP hospitality area, and uprooting fans who have sat there for decades into different seats. Around 500 fans will be relocated.
Earlier this season, United sparked fury when they raised ticket prices to a minimum of £66 for members for the rest of the season.
Members of all ages including children have been made to pay the increased fare for tickets and the club has also removed concession prices.
For next season, the cost of seasn tickets has been raised by five per cent to a range of £608-£1,121.
One sign on Sunday read: 'Seats + souls for sale.' Another said: 'Evicted after 40 years by order of Sir Jim come-lately.'
Elsewhere, one asked: 'What has the club we loved turned into?' There were also the usual 'Glazers out' signs.
United have raised season ticket prices by five per cent for three seasons in a row, although they have frozen prices for under-16s.
But the Manchester United Supporters' Trust said in March that they were 'disappointed' that the club ignored calls to freeze all prices.
MUST raised concerns over plans to relocate fans sitting behind the dugouts at Old Trafford and sell their seats at higher prices in a new VIP area, and also charge non-season ticket holders more for premium games using a match categorisation model.
They also challenged United over an increase in the season ticket holder minimum usage requirement to 16 of the 19 Premier League games, the decision to impose a £10 charge on fans selling their tickets back to the club less than two weeks before the game, and a 15 per cent increase in car parking charges.
MUST and protest group The 1958 have staged repeated protests throughout the season. A large-scale demonstration outside the ground in December united under the banner of #StopExploitingLoyalty'.
In April, The 1968 organised a sit-in protest for after their 0-0 stalemate with Manchester City, remaining in their spots well beyond the match.
Chants of 'we want Glazers out' rung around the Stretford End, while many flags and banners were also held up.
One flag read: '£66 your debt not ours,' as a reference towards the club increasing ticket prices.
Many other flags took aim at the Glazer family's majority ownership of United, with one reading 'Love United hate Glazers', while another simply displayed 'Glazers out'.
United chief executive Omar Berrada said in March: 'We appreciate the loyal and patient support of our fans, and particularly our season-ticket holders who represent the core of our match-going support base.
'We understand the importance of their backing for the team and have worked hard to come up with a pricing package that is fair and reasonable.
'After 11 consecutive years of price freezes, we increased prices by five per cent for the past two seasons and intend to do the same for next season to offset continued rises in operating costs.
'We understand that any price rise is unwelcome, especially during a period of underperformance on the pitch, and we listened carefully to the strong arguments put forward by the FAB (fans' advisory board) in favour of a freeze.
'However, the club has decided that it would not be right to keep prices unchanged while costs rise and the club continues to face financial issues.'
