Manchester United are still trying to find out how a significant number of Galatasaray supporters managed to buy tickets in the home section of Old Trafford for their Champions League game on Tuesday.
After Galatasaray won 3-2, a large portion of their fans gathered in the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, with others in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand making their way towards the away section.
Videos on social media appeared to show Galatasaray supporters or club staff inside the directors’ box antagonising United fans, though this was seen as a show of euphoria rather than anything sinister.
Flares were set off inside Old Trafford by Galatasaray fans and a banner paying tribute to former United manager Sir Matt Busby — reading, “It’s glory and honour, the great man he said. There’s nothing on earth like being a Red” — was torn down by the away club’s supporters.
The Athletic breaks down what happened on Tuesday night…
What happened at full time?
As Old Trafford emptied, it became clear that Galatasaray supporters had successfully infiltrated the stadium’s home areas.
The state of Old Trafford at full time, Galatasaray fans in all areas of the ground is unacceptable @ManUtd. We really are at rock bottom as a club. pic.twitter.com/fSvLWXYsxk
— jack (@Jack_H_20) October 3, 2023
Multiple videos show the fans celebrating the win, singing and waving their scarves.
How did United supporters react?
When you add the result into the equation, they were furious.
“We were surrounded by Galatasaray fans all game,” Lucy Cawley, who sat in the South Stand in front of the directors’ box, told The Athletic. “The whole thing was an accident waiting to happen.
“Before the start of the game, loads of them (Galatasaray fans) were in their shirts, so United fans spoke to stewards about it — to be told they weren’t causing trouble so there’s nothing they could do.
“As we went to leave, a load of them surged forward. My friend tripped over one of the men, so turned to apologise and he grabbed her by the collar and started shouting and being abusive to her, as she tried to shove him off.
“We know another steward, so shouted at him and he came over, but the Galatasaray fan ran off. We reported it to a senior steward and a police officer.”
Greater Manchester Police has been approached for comment.
Posts on social media indicated how some fans felt about what had happened.
THE CLUB IS ROTTEN TO THE CORE!
Last night was yet another low for every match going supporter.
Jeopardising fan and employee safety to sell corporate tickets to Galatasaray fans.
This resulted in banners being torn down and violent scenes. pic.twitter.com/DQAnYDzKWO
— The 1958 (@The__1958) October 4, 2023
Many criticised the club for how they sold “premium” seats via their website. As of Thursday afternoon, the club’s website shows that tickets are still available for their home tie against Copenhagen on October 24, with the most expensive — in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand — costing £395 ($480).
One of the sections with premium seating still available for the Champions League tie appears to be where a pocket of Galatasaray supporters were seated on Tuesday night.
Similarly, premium tickets for United’s home tie against Bayern Munich on December 12 are still available — in the same sections Galatasaray fans were sat on Tuesday night — priced from £425 to £595.
“I was fully surrounded by Galatasaray fans, a group of about 30 to 40 of them,” said Pete Gordon, who was sitting in the corner of the North and East stands. “There was constant quarrelling all game.
“Around the 60th minute, one senior-looking steward came and threw out the ones wearing Galatasaray shirts, but all their mates sat among them in neutral clothing and stayed until the end.
“They obviously went crazy when Galatasaray scored the first equaliser, and actually started chanting in time with the away section at one point, swinging their scarves around.
“Loads of people around me wouldn’t let it drop, and a couple of stewards sat at the front looking towards the stand just laughing.”
The banner that was torn down has been retrieved and reinstalled.
We shall not be moved!
The torn down section of the Sir Matt Busby “Honour and Glory” banner was retrieved from the away fan as he tried to leave OT with it.
After a quick repair job it’s back on the tier.
Big 👏 to all the #mufc staff who assisted in it’s retrieval and repair pic.twitter.com/6y3fN6kPsM— Stretford End Flags (@SEF_MUFC) October 5, 2023
Are the club doing anything about it?
On Wednesday morning, The Athletic reported that United had started an investigation into how so many Galatasaray supporters had obtained tickets in the home stands.
The club had measures in place, as they do with all European fixtures, to stop away fans from gaining access to home areas. This included a ban on ticket sales to anyone with a Turkish address.
The club’s initial findings indicated that touting and sales through official channels to UK-based Galatasaray fans was the cause of the issue.
One supporter noted how a ticket he had donated to the Manchester United Foundation was resold on the open market to raise money for the club’s charity, but was occupied by a Galatasaray fan.
United say these tickets are not resold as premium seats, nor are they sold above face value.
Frustrated supporters who emailed United to complain about what took place were told the club will continue its investigation and “provide an update in our fans’ forum next week”.
In the email, United said that “all tickets were allocated in line with the club’s safety operating manual”, which is part of their safety certificate and is therefore signed off by the local authorities.
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Will supporters challenge United on ticketing at the fans’ forum?
The Red News fanzine has submitted a series of questions regarding the sale of premium seats and how, despite ticket prices previously being frozen, matchday revenue continues to increase.
They want to know what percentage of seats were sold as premium over the past five seasons, and whether United has been selling more of them.
Another question submitted by Red News seeks to find out what United plan to do once they close the International Suite, a hospitality section in the heart of the Stratford End, from the 2024-25 campaign.
A reminder these are the questions RedNews submitted for the next Fans’ Forum (whenever it is) about Utd’s premium seating model.
A fanzine is there to challenge its own club if necessary.
That’s what we always try to do at RedNews.
You won’t always agree = that’s healthy. https://t.co/rQFJX6rfjn pic.twitter.com/evyAGI3SAt
— Barney @Red News (@barneyrednews) October 4, 2023
Will United complain to Galatasaray?
Beyond the exuberance of those supporting the away team from the directors’ box and a banner being torn down by their supporters, the Turkish club bear little responsibility. The fact that fans obtained tickets in home sections is not Galatasaray’s issue to fix.
No formal complaint has been made by United to Galatasaray.
It is also worth noting that United fans often find their way into home areas at many of the club’s away matches.
Is there anything UEFA can do?
UEFA rules say that away supporters must be segregated during a fixture, whether it is a club or international match.
“The visiting association or club must be allocated five per cent of the total stadium capacity as tickets for their supporters in a dedicated sector of the stadium,” UEFA’s regulations state.
“This sector of the stadium must be capable of being segregated from other sectors. The location of away supporters within this sector must be agreed in advance by police and public authorities.”
Following Tuesday night’s match, The Athletic contacted UEFA and it said the official reports from all matches this week are in the process of being reviewed. If certain matters from Old Trafford are reported, then European football’s governing body will open a proceeding that could lead to disciplinary sanctions.
UEFA takes a dim view on flares being set off by supporters, with this action often leading to the club whose fans lit the flare being fined, as per the governing body’s regulations.
Old Trafford on Tuesday night (Alex Livesey via Getty Images)
Has this happened before in European fixtures?
Tuesday night’s events are not comparable to the scenes at Barcelona’s Europa League quarter-final tie at home to Eintracht Frankfurt in April 2022.
There were 79,468 supporters in attendance at the Camp Nou that night, more than 30,000 of whom were Frankfurt fans, despite only being allocated 5,000 tickets.
Xavi, Barcelona’s manager, said afterwards that his players “did not feel comfortable” in their own stadium, with Joan Laporta, the club’s president, labelling it “a disgrace that must not be repeated”.
When Manchester United played Barcelona in the Europa League in February, the Spanish club took action to stop United fans infiltrating home sections, with English people struggling to buy tickets. Some were even barred from entering the Camp Nou on the day, which led to a scene of many empty seats in the stadium.
Galatasaray fans in the home end at Old Trafford (Michael Regan via Getty Images)
How will United prevent it from happening again?
You would expect United are embarrassed by the scenes and will seek to mitigate against it happening again.
Beyond not selling to the country of the visiting team, it is a challenge for any team to stop their home sections being infiltrated by away supporters.
“Following the game, we have recommended changes to this policy which will be implemented when approved to further prevent this issue from occurring again in the future,” their email to fans read.
Those changes do not include improving training for stewards. Instead, United will focus on making it harder to tout tickets by increasing technological obstacles to sharing digital tickets outside of official channels.
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(Top photo: Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
