Another stuttering display meant Manchester United were held to a goalless draw at home by Newcastle United on Sunday. This was their first draw of the season.
Now the Red Devils have to deal with two clubs in top-four with Tottenham Hotspur set to come to Old Trafford midweek followed by a mouthwatering clash against Chelsea on Saturday.
Ticket allocation slashed
Apart from the on-field rivalry, the game against the Blues has also run into off the field controversy because of United having their away ticket allocation reduced.
Manchester United players gave back majority of family tickets for Chelsea game so that fans’ allocation wasn’t cut by as much. Each member of matchday squad usually gets two seats each but they wanted to express solidarity with supporters. #mufc #mujournal
— United Journal (@theutdjournal) October 17, 2022
As previously reported, the initial number of away tickets allocated for United’s supporters stood at 2994.
But the Metropolitan Police ended up suggesting that allocation should be reduced due to policing concerns over the clash. They had suggested a drastic reduction to 1500.
United had to intervene and the Met Police eventually agreed to allowing 2370 fans which meant the club had to inform 624 lucky fans who were successful in the ballot that they would not be making the trip to Stamford Bridge.
The club tried to appease the fans by including the option of attending a separate game later on.
As reported by The Peoples Person, Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) had released a statement threatening Hammersmith and Fulham Council with legal action due to reduced ticket allocations for the game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Players help out fans
And now Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic has claimed that the leadership group among players have taken a collective decision of “returning family tickets for the match at Chelsea next weekend so fewer of the club’s fans have to be removed from the away allocation.”
Initially, 624 tickets were said to be reduced which prompted the “leadership group of Erik ten Hag’s squad, which includes Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, David de Gea and Tom Heaton, to meet to decide how they could help.”
Usually members of the squad get two complimentary tickets which is reserved for friends and family but after the meeting, a large number of the squad decided to forgo their share.
Now, the figure has been reduced to less than 600 which will benefit quite a few supporters who had been forced to forego their tickets.
United’s away support is considered to be one of the best in the world and they will be pleased with the players’ initiative to help them out.
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