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4 hours ago
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Manchester United’s official Fans’ Forum, Manchester United Supporters Trust (Must), The 1958 and five other such groups have complained to the club over supporters being “treated as suspects” after some had season tickets suspended as part of a move to stop the illegal reselling of seats.
United last week contacted fans who used six or more devices to access accounts linked to the club or to forward tickets, as in their view this suggested the potential buying of seats to resell. Members are allowed only to forward tickets to other members, or sell them back to United.
Those contacted were asked why multiple accounts were accessed, to identify the differing devices they used, and for photo ID to prove their validity. “Following a detailed review of activity across our ticketing and digital platforms, we have identified sustained activity associated with your account, or with accounts that appear to be connected to or controlled by you, which may indicate a breach of the club’s ticketing terms and conditions,” the email from United said.
In a joint statement, supporter groups said: “Professional touting, automated purchasing and those who exploit supporters for financial gain have no place at Manchester United and deserve robust action. However, that action must be fair, proportionate and transparent. Longstanding supporters who have followed Manchester United for decades, often across multiple generations of the same family, should never feel they are being treated as suspects without clear evidence, due process or a meaningful opportunity to respond to the allegations made against them. The current approach has created a growing perception among supporters of ‘ban first and ask questions later’.
“The Fans’ Forum has rightly called on the club to pause the issuing of further suspensions and to halt any cancellation of season tickets while meaningful discussions take place. We support this.”
Reasons given by fans for the use of multiple devices to access club accounts includes being able to act for a group of friends or for elderly family members who struggle to use technology. United’s position is understood to be that no bans or formal sanctions have been applied and that any season tickets that have been revoked will be reissued before the team’s first home game of the season, which is against Ipswich Town on 30 August.
United have applied restrictions to accounts and offered only three days to appeal once a verdict is reached, as the club believe some of these are being used for illegal resale and the usual 14 days could be used to sell tickets on.
