With Manchester United fans taking over sections of the city centre and streets leading up towards Old Trafford once again this weekend, one supporter’s clever and comedic ‘Glazers Out’sign protesting the club ownership has gone viral.
Whether you’re a Red or not, it’s hard to call this anything other than it is: hilarious.
As thousands of United fans descended on the ground ahead of their game against Aston Villa on Sunday, one man’s manner of sending a message certainly caught the crowd’s eye.
Joining many others masking his face with a ‘Glazers Out‘ scarf and waving green and gold flares while atop a wall on Sir Matt Busby Way, the mystery man stood out from other supporters thanks to a VAR-themed protest sign reading, “VAR Decision: Glazers are c***s”.
United fan tickles fellow protestors with funny ‘Glazers Out’ VAR sign.
Say what you will about the language but at least he’s to the point.
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With the deadline for the final round of bidding for Manchester United having passed on Friday last week, the club’s fans went out with a clear message: they’ve had enough of the Glazers and want a “full sale only” — the fear being that they could still secure investment while remaining in the picture.
That being said, after nearly two decades of ownership, supporters have had to get more and more creative when it comes to making their feelings known. Ingenuis, funny and crucially peaceful demonstration like this is the kind we can get behind.
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His fellow protestors certainly seemed to approve, with plenty of comments on social media calling him “a legend” and quipping, “best use of VAR yet”. He wasn’t the only one who received praise online either, as even Erik ten Hag himself appeared to acknowledge the fans’ continued grievances.
While many have suggested that the manager may receive somewhat of a slap on the wrist for the incident, others have said that he was simply picking up a common club scarf from the pitch after a fan threw it to him.
Nevertheless, the Dutch coach has assured that the continued protests won’t prove to be a distraction for the remainder of the season.
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Speaking to media after the 1-0 win over Villa, ten Hag said: “We felt [the fans] were behind us, we have to focus to be successful, that’s what fans expect, I’m sure when we give performances like we did all season the fans are behind us. There’s a strong bond.”
You can watch the highlights of Manchester United vs Aston Villa down below:
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
1st May 2023 
