Manchester United fans protest ownership before Villa match

Manchester United supporters protested the club’s ownership before the Premier League match against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on November 8, displaying green-and-gold balloons and a banner calling for the owners to leave. A planned walkout in the 21st minute did not take place.

Fans in the Stretford End displayed a banner reading, “We don’t want a new stadium, we want the owners out,” and chanted against the Glazer family and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the players emerged. Green and gold has been used by supporters as a symbol of opposition to the club’s current leadership.

The 1958 supporter group and allied organisations had urged fans to wear green and gold and boycott spending at the ground. The appeal was presented as a protest against the ownership and the proposed replacement of Old Trafford, as well as concerns about club debt, standards and the treatment of matchgoing supporters. The extent to which fans followed the spending boycott, or whether it affected sales, was not established.

Organisers also objected to money being spent on land for a new stadium rather than on the squad, according to match reports. The proposal would replace Old Trafford with a new...