Manchester United fans are furious after the club moved their seats for tomorrow’s opening fixture of the Women’s Super League season against West Ham United at Old Trafford.
The fans were informed of the change last Friday, a week before the fixture, in an email from the Manchester United team with details for their new seats.
In the original email, the club failed to explain why the actions had taken place but have since told ticket holders that the changes comes in efforts to increase atmosphere for the fans and players alike.
One fan, Andy Middleton, spoke of how his daughter Alycia, who suffers from an anxiety disorder, had spent two hours on the website to initially request aisle seats for the fixture.
Middleton, 71, said: “I’m pretty angry. There was never going to be more than 15,000 fans there.
“What’s the point in going to a half empty stadium? I’m not sure how many fans are being taken seriously.”
The Middletons’ requested aisle seats were upheld from Manchester United, with only the location being moved.
The season ticket holder contacted the club to explain his grievances, saying it was poor of them to put the fixture at the main stadium, only to be forced into last minute chances.
Fans have taken to social media to speculate that the moves were due to the insufficient sale of tickets, with some estimating that less than 10,000 tickets have been sold and the resulting downsizing is to reduce the amount of outgoing funds.
With smaller sections of the stadium being open, Manchester United need less stewards and other staff members to safeguard the fixture.
Middleton himself questioned numbers, adding: “There is floating support from families for Lionesses players. I’m not sure they’ve actually thought about the fixtures.”
Middleton understands why the seats were moved, with poor ticket sales, but also criticised the club’s decision to hold the fixture at Old Trafford to begin with.
Tickets for the fixture are £10 for an adult, with Middleton’s season ticket starting at £40 for an elderly person.
But in fixtures against smaller sides at Old Trafford, this year’s FA Cup winners have struggled to get more than 15,000 spectators.
Middleton was sceptical of the choice of games at Old Trafford, with Crystal Palace also being held there in February.
Manchester United Women’s highest attendance at Old Trafford was on the 19th of November last year, with 43,615 spectators watching the side lose in the derby game to Manchester City.
Manchester United were contacted for comment.
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