United fans stage Glazers demonstration

Several hundred fans staged a noisy demonstration as the three Glazer brothers arrived to watch their first match at Old Trafford.

Manchester United’s Champions League qualifier against Hungarian side Debrecen is the first home match since the Glazer family took control and thousands of fans chose to boycott the game in protest with around 700 marching on the stadium tonight.

Bryan, Avi and Joel Glazer are all non-executive directors and on their last visit to Old Trafford in June they had to be smuggled out in the back of a police van to avoid protesters furious at being saddled with a large debt.

Tonight’s boycott was organised by Shareholders United and the Independent Manchester United Supporters’ Association (IMUSA).

Shareholders United spokesman Oliver Houston told PA Sport: “This boycott is symbolic – one game is not going to cripple the club financially. The fact they had only sold 40,000 tickets yesterday and are having to sell them on the gate is a significant blow – it’s unheard of.

“Whilst we remain United around Sir Alex and the team we remain vehemently opposed to the vast and potentially crippling debt the Glazers have forced onto the club.

“The supporters are the true long-term custodians of the club and whilst the manager and the players have a job to do, so do we – and that is to protect the heritage of United and preserve it for future generations.

“This is just the start of a long campaign.”

United chief executive David Gill claimed the dissenters were only “a minority” and sales for this game were good.

Gill told BBC News 24: “The ownership situation has been sorted out now we look forward to the future with confidence.

“There are a lot of good things happening at the club... we are expanding the stadium.

“We have sold record numbers of season tickets, sales for this game are good, the Aston Villa game a week on Saturday is sold out.

“Yes there is some dissent and clearly we understand the feelings but we feel it is a minority. The majority of fans quite rightly are only interested in the team being successful and challenging for honours.

“The same goes for the Glazers, the rest of the board, the manager and the players.”