Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s name was targeted during Sunday’s Man Utd protest (Image: Getty)
Manchester United supporters took aim at Sir Jim Ratcliffe during a scheduled march against the Glazers on Sunday afternoon. INEOS chief Ratcliffe only bought into the Red Devils last year but he has already become a divisive figure following a wave of cost-cutting measures at Old Trafford.
Supporter group The 1958 announced plans on Tuesday to protest against the Glazer family, who remain majority owners despite handing over sporting control to Ratcliffe, and the general running of the club. A large crowd gathered outside The Tollgate pub just after 15:00 (GMT), and many wore black to symbolise how the club is ‘slowly dying’.
A debt-leveraged buyout in 2005, and years of on-pitch struggles since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, have made the Glazers frequent targets of fan discontent. Many hoped that Ratcliffe’s arrival would be a new dawn, given that he and other senior INEOS colleagues have assumed control of decision making on sporting matters.
But barely a year into his tenure, a sequence of unpopular decisions have brought Ratcliffe into the firing line along with the Glazers. And many fans made their anger known on Sunday with chants of: “Just like the Glazers, Jim Ratcliffe’s a c***.”
Last month it was announced that United would be making another 200 staff redundant after axing another 250 workers last year. INEOS have also abolished free lunches for staff, who will instead be offered soup and bread.
Ratcliffe also faced the fury of United supporters when he raised the Premier League matchday ticket price to £66 in December, while also removing concessions for pensioners and children.
” has become mediocre,” Ratcliffe told . “It is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions. If you shy away from the difficult decisions, then nothing much is going to change.
“I know we get criticism in the press but we do need to challenge the cost of running this club because what I want to be free for us to do is buy really good footballers, not spend so much of the money on infrastructure.”
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