'You are taking the p***' - Angry Man United fans confront Sir Jim Ratcliffe over ticket price hike
Angry Manchester United fans confronted Sir Jim Ratcliffe on Sunday after his decision to raise ticket prices.
Ratcliffe was at Craven Cottage as United won 1-0 against Fulham thanks to a second-half goal from Lisandro Martinez and he was approached by unhappy fans as he left the ground.
United made the mid-season decision to raise matchday ticket prices to £66 per game in the Premier League, with no concessions for children or pensioners.
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Fans organised a protest against the controversial ticket hike in December and Ratcliffe added fuel to the fire in his interview with the United We Stand magazine, saying that "it doesn't make sense" for a United ticket to cost less than a ticket to watch London-club Fulham.
Ratcliffe's comments didn't go down well and he was confronted as he sat in his car outside Craven Cottage. In a video shared on social media, the British billionaire winds his car window down before he appears to say "get your photograph".
"66 quid, you're taking the p***. You're worse than the Glazers, sort it out," a fan replied.
Another fan said during the heated exchange: "66 f****** quid, mate. What are you doing mate? We're northerners, come on, mate. Our prices should be a third of Fulham's."
In Ratcliffe's United We Stand interview, he said of the anger at the ticket price rises: "I understand that. I was brought up on a council estate in Manchester, I absolutely get that.
"I don't want to end up in a position where the genuine local fans can't afford to come, but I do want to optimise the ticketing. We need to find a balance. And you can't be popular all the time either. Here, we're talking about three per cent of the tickets. That's not the issue.
"The issue, as you say, is whether this is the thin edge of the wedge. I don't think it makes sense for a Manchester United ticket to cost less than a ticket to see Fulham."
Told that wages are higher in London, Ratcliffe continued: "I get that. I'm not sure there's an answer that keeps everybody happy, but we need to keep the majority happy."
Outlining more details on the club's decision to increase matchday ticket prices, the Ineos chief added: "It's an emotive one, ticketing, but we have to have some benchmarks with ticketing.
"We must make sure that we look after the community because at the end of the day it's their football club. We need to make sure that people who are genuine supporters can afford to go. Maybe their circumstances don't allow them to spend a fortune on tickets."
United said the hike would only affect a small number of fans as 97 per cent of tickets had already been sold but the remainder and resold tickets will be subject to the increase.
The reality is that some supporters have been forced to walk away from attending games. One fan told the Manchester Evening News the changes were "gutting" and another slammed it as a "disgusting policy", questioning how it has been deemed fair to charge children £66 to watch a game.
