Manchester United have apologised for the ‘unacceptable’ circumstances that led to Galatasaray fans infiltrating home areas of Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.
The Red Devils sustained a second consecutive loss on home turf when the Turkish side saw out a 3-2 win in the Champions League group-stage clash.
As if the result wasn’t frustrating enough, match-going Reds were then forced to deal with away supporters in the thousands celebrating across Old Trafford.
People in the away section of the East Stand also tore down part of the iconic Sir Matt Busby banner, though it has since, thankfully, been restored ahead of Saturday’s game.
United fans were left furious over the situation, with some in attendance said to have suffered abuse and assault from the mixing Galatasaray followers.
The club initially tried to shift blame onto season ticket holders and members for illegally touting their tickets, however, it doesn’t take much critical thinking to dispel that theory.
For one thing, how would such large collections of holders around the 70,000+ capacity stadium come together with a plan to shift their tickets – by the block – to travelling fans on a European night? No chance.
United’s response
Chief operating officer Collette Roche has since apologised to those affected by the fiasco, claiming that ‘bots’ had been able to purchase large quantities of tickets and redistribute them ‘via ticket touts’.
“Our system showed that these tickets were predominantly sold to long-standing official members who have attended other matches in recent seasons, with a large percentage being to those under the age of 16, and therefore did not appear in pre-match checks to pose any risk.”
“In reality, those who turned up on the night were adult Galatasaray fans.
“Whilst this hasn’t presented issues in the last couple of decades, the volume of tickets accessed by non-Turkish residents who transpired to be Galatasaray fans was unacceptable.”
