Manchester United fans postpone protest against Ratcliffe over division

Manchester United Supporters’ Group Postpones Protest

The Manchester United fan group, known as “The 1958”, has decided to postpone the demonstration against the club’s ownership that they had planned for the opening day of the Premier League season. Originally, the protest was scheduled for August 17 at Old Trafford, coinciding with United’s match against Arsenal. Protesters planned to carry banners directed at minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe. In recent years, “The 1958” has led numerous protests, mainly aimed at the majority shareholders, the Glazers. However, frustration has now spread to Ratcliffe. The British businessman, who owns 28.94% of United’s shares, has implemented significant changes, some of them unpopular, since he assumed daily operational control from the Glazers in February 2024.

Man United fans had planned to protest on the opening day of the season.Last week, the group expressed its discontent: “Jim Ratcliffe chose to lie down with the Glazers and, in our opinion, is helping to keep them in charge.” However, after conducting a survey, the group acknowledged that opinion is divided and that the time is not right for the protest.

With a passion as diverse and passionate as ours, finding the right balance is not always easy. We had to consider the impulse, the moment, the appetite of the fans and the wider consequences of protest activity, while assessing how current and future decisions can impact us as fans.

The 1958

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The group stated that, given the current opinion among the fans and in light of the recent survey results, it is clear that there is no unified vision on the direction of the club under Ratcliffe. “That division is real, and we believe it would be irresponsible to risk creating a situation that could result in any ‘red on red’ conflict inside or outside the stadium.” The group reported that almost 63% of the nearly 26,000 respondents believed that Ratcliffe and his company Ineos should be held accountable for their decisions so far through a protest. However, 68% also believed they should be given more time.