Protest or fear? United fans plan boycott at Liverpool game

Manchester United fans are planning a boycott against the management at the home game against Liverpool. The protest, dubbed #EmptyOldTrafford, aims to boycott the Glazer family, the shareholders who control Cristiano Ronaldo's club.

The US managers have been unpopular since their arrival, when they put the team £600m into debt by buying it with borrowed money. Since then, they are said to have poured money into their own bank accounts through huge dividends, allowed the once proud stadium to fall into serious disrepair, installed merchant bankers rather than football men in key positions at the club and interfered in football decisions.

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Chief executive Richard Arnold, recently admitted that the protests were damaging the club's finances and this week, shirt sponsor TeamViewer announced it would not renew its deal with the club. With share prices under constant pressure, the protests and boycotts of sponsors and merchandising are starting to take their toll.

The family have stepped up to the plate as protests grow and have worked with the MUST supporters group to introduce a share plan to try and appease disgruntled fans, but this was criticised as a symbolic gesture that would offer amateur investors no hope of gaining a meaningful stake in the ownership.

#EmptyOldTrafford

The protesters are hoping that Old Trafford will be empty for the biggest game of the season, against Liverpool, which would be a triumph for them. It seems a difficult feat to achieve, though, as there are plenty of people dying to see United play and who don't understand the purpose of the protests.

By way of background, a previous protest at the corresponding match in May 2021 led to the match being abandoned, so there is every reason to be confident that this new effort will be more than effective. Despite all this, protesters are calling for peaceful support for the protests and a continued boycott of sponsors, MUTV, official club merchandising and anything else that puts money in the Glazer family's pockets.