Man United's Association of Disabled Fans (MUDSA) has just sent an open letter to the club's board of directors about the experience of watching football at Old Trafford for them being increasingly of poor quality compared to before.
In the letter, MUDSA pointed out that recently, the connection between players and fans at Old Trafford has become increasingly poor, especially for disabled fans.
MUDSA has asked Man United to review the 16/19 rule. This rule requires each season ticket owner (watching 19 Premier League games) to watch at least 16 matches. From there, this person has the right to extend the ticket for the next season.
The 16/19 rule also states that if fans cannot go to Old Trafford to watch a match, they must give a 2-week warning. Otherwise, they will be fined £10.
This is a rather unreasonable principle because for people with disabilities, sometimes health problems come more often than normal people and they cannot know in advance.
The Safety Management Agency at England's stadiums (SGSA) said that as of 4/3, Old Trafford had arranged 2 fewer seats for people with disabilities out of a total of 280 pre-regulated seats.
This raises suspicions that the stadium management board has reduced disabled seats to sell to other fans to increase revenue.
Two weeks ago, Man United fans created a wave of fierce opposition when the team intended to increase ticket prices seasonally by 5%. This story has not yet been finalized, but many "Red Devils" fans who came to see it at Old Trafford were shocked to learn that car parking prices had begun to increase by 15%.
People with disabilities coming to see Man United are facing the situation of being reduced in seats, ticket prices may increase and parking prices are also getting more and more expensive.
A MUSDA representative said that people with disabilities suffer more disadvantages than usual, so the ability to pay for these expenses is also increasingly difficult.
After Sir Jim Ratliffe's exclusive interview with The Telegraph, fans sympathized with the British billionaire surrounding Man United's current problems. However, no matter what, the increase in ticket prices has never made fans feel comfortable.
Previously, when Arsenal increased ticket prices to increase revenue, thereby paying off the debt to build the Emirates Stadium, the Gooners have been cheering from year to year even though their love for the team has never changed.
That is the problem Man United are facing before building the new Old Trafford, expected to be operational from the 2030 - 2031 season.
