Old Trafford protests puts Manchester United v Liverpool game in doubt – live!
Old Trafford #OldTrafford
11.31am EDT 11:31
Peep peep! The game should have been kicking off right now. It may still be played, as the police have managed to clear the forecourt at Old Trafford. But the teams are still at their team hotels.
11.28am EDT 11:28
“It seems any protest these days is a dirty protest,” says Ian Copestake. “While I am sad to be spared seeing us beat Utd only to lose the next three games, I support the right of middle fingers to be raised to the man.”
Or woman
11.26am EDT 11:26
Whatever the strength of feeling about the Glazers – or, indeed, anything – breaking into a venue, going onto property when not allowed is illegal and completely counter-productive to the very sentiment behind the protest. And, the bottom line, is this will have repercussions…
11.26am EDT 11:26
Gary Neville is off on another spectacular one about the European Super League. This-is a million times better than the match would have been.
“I think it would be the right thing to do for the Glazers to sell. Whether they will is another matter. I’ve seen the 50+1 protests – I don’t think that’s implementable in English football, as great as it potentially would be. What I do think is achievable in English football at this time if that every fan in this country – whether it’s an EFL club or a National League club that’s struggling abnd dying like you wouldn’t believe, whether it’s grassroots facilities in the community and you can’t afford to keep your pitches in a good state, whether you’re the 14 Premier League clubs outside the top six – you really know that you’re in danger from those six.
“So what’s achievable? There’s a fan-led review that’s been announced in the last week by the government, and there is independent regulation that could be achievable if fans mobilise together. We need to make sure there are protections put in place against these six owners. They are a danger to English football and to one of the greatest assests England has. Big Picture, they put a proposal forward and it was kicked back. Then they said they’d signed up to the European Super League, which took it a stage further. The next time, you won’t get asked. They’ll just leave. They’re not going away.”
11.18am EDT 11:18
The stadium has been put into another lockdown, a steward has just told the media outside Old Trafford.
Police officers deal with a flare that was thrown through a window at Old Trafford. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/Offside/Getty Images
Updated at 11.22am EDT
11.16am EDT 11:16
Official Premier League update
“After the security breach at Old Trafford we can confirm the Manchester United v Liverpool match will not kick-off at 16:30 BST.
The safety of everyone at Old Trafford is paramount.
At present there is no revised kick-off time. We will update accordingly.”
11.13am EDT 11:13
Thanks for all your emails, which I’m doing my best to sift through. It’s really interesting that, after the initial, instinctive condemnation, there is more and more support for the protests. Gary Neville is off on one again about the Glazers and Florentino Perez.
11.12am EDT 11:12
Roy Keane’s verdict
“I have sympathy with the fans, 100 per cent. It’s a tipping point for them. It was peaceful. One or two bottles were thrown and a couple of flares – I think that was towards Jamie to be fair – but they’ve had enough. Enough’s enough. United have some of the best fans in the world and we’ve seen today that they’ve come to the end with the ownership.”
11.10am EDT 11:10
Possible Covid breach
This is interesting from Chris Metzler.
“You’ve mentioned that the Premier League is saying the dressing rooms at Old Trafford have remained secure; and Sky is saying similar things. But NBC, who have Arlo White and Lee Dixon at the stadium, are sticking to their guns – they’ve been reporting for over a half hour that they have sources that have told them at least one fan went into one of the dressing rooms, and just explicitly contradicted the Sky report.”
Updated at 11.11am EDT
11.10am EDT 11:10
And here’s Jamie Carragher
“It’s been a peaceful protest in the stadium, I’m not sure about outside. They’re very unhappy at how they’ve been treated, and how the Glazers have taken money out of the club. It’s heightened by what’s happening with the Super League. Yes, we want to see a game of football, and we don’t want any trouble, but I can’t stand here and have a go at Manchester United supporters. My own supporters at Liverpool were doing things 10 or 15 years ago to get Hicks and Gillett out of the club. Whether it will happen with the Glazers, who knows, but as long as it’s peaceful I won’t have a go at any Man Utd fans.”
11.06am EDT 11:06
Gary Neville is choosing his words very carefully on Sky Sports
“This is the consequence of the owners of Manchester United’s actions two weeks ago. There’s a general distrust and dislike of the owners, but people weren’t protesting before this happened. Generally, the Glazer family along with a number of other owners of football clubs in this country were conniving and scheming behind everyone’s back to walk away with the crown jewels. Today we’ve seen people protest at that.”
11.04am EDT 11:04
Sky Sports are saying the protest have been “largely peaceful”. There are various videos doing the rounds, including one of a civilian scoring at the Stretford End with an inelegant free-kick. It’s interesting that the majority of emails so far, about three in every five I’d say, have been in favour of the protest.
Updated at 11.05am EDT
11.00am EDT 11:00
“I’m hoping for some Adrian Chiles/Roy Keane-style chit chat on the Man U blog,” writes my colleague John Windmill. “Exactly when does heavy rain become a downpour??”
When Roy Keane says so?
10.58am EDT 10:58
“I understand the fans’ anger, their desire to rid themselves of the cynical corporate influence of their game,” says Mary Waltz. “But unless they plan to carry on this form of protest every week through the rest of this season into the next year it will not change a thing. The Glazers, Kroenkes and Fenway Group owners are pricks of misery who do not care one whit about the public, their opinions.
“They are not used to anyone telling them what to do. They will not sell their teams on the cheap. They will issue anodyne comments, claim that they are sorry for the Super :eague, that they have heard and understand their fans’ complaints, but behind closed doors they will be saying ‘Who do these lowlifes think they are, no one tells me what to do.’”
10.57am EDT 10:57
The referee Michael Oliver is in the ground now, looking at a Sky camera with a quizzical expression and moving his thumb up and down. The teams are still at their respective hotels. My instinct is that there is approximately 0.00 per cent chance of the game being played today.
10.56am EDT 10:56
Newcastle 0-2 Arsenal is the final score in the first Premier League game of the day, which finished a couple of minutes ago.
Newcastle United v Arsenal: Premier League – live!
10.54am EDT 10:54
Here’s more from Jamie Jackson on events in M16
Manchester United v Liverpool delayed after fans invade Old Trafford in protest
10.53am EDT 10:53
“Hi Rob,” says George Wright. “Please spare a thoughts for the social media commentators unable to share their Very Important Opinions on events at Old Trafford during this weekend’s boycotts. And spare a thought for the rest of us when the floodgates open post-boycott…”
It’s killing me. I’ve got a tweet drafted and everything.
Updated at 10.59am EDT
10.53am EDT 10:53
“Can we have a bit of balance?” says Simon Bradley. “As a United fan, I support fans taking their protest inside the stadium. Protest is meant to be disruptive. We’ve put up with 16 years of dreadful capitalist owners sucking the life out our club. Their decision to stick two fingers up to the fans, and indeed the rest of football, by joining the Super League is the final straw for many. I don’t care if the game is postponed, or even if we have to forfeit. It’s a small price to pay for trying to save our club.”
10.48am EDT 10:48
“While I’m inclined to agree with Karine Flores,” says Zach Neeley, “in theory, in reality its the wrong way that usually gets the attention of the powers that be.”
Agreed. Whatever the rights and wrongs, this has been a phenomenally effective protest.
10.48am EDT 10:48
“Afternoon Rob,” says Stephen Carr. “Could we use the delay to have a full and frank discussion about VAR? It feels overdue to be honest.”
10.45am EDT 10:45
I’ve just had a chilling thought. If the kick-off is heavily delayed, the match could overlap with Line of Duty. I’m clocking off at 8.59pm, even if it’s 4-4 with 20 minutes remaining.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey etc Photograph: Steffan Hill/BBC/PA
Updated at 10.50am EDT
10.44am EDT 10:44
“There’s a way to do things,” says Karine Flores, “and storming into Old Trafford and putting the game in jeopardy isn’t the right way!!”
10.43am EDT 10:43
What I really want to know is: where is Michael Oliver? What’s a referee supposed to do in a situation like this?
10.40am EDT 10:40
“Surely if the match is postponed United will simply have to forfeit the game,” says Declan O’Brien. “It’s a complete failure on their behalf to ensure the safety of all those involved. If they do postpone it, it could come after fans are allowed into the stadiums again, thus gaining them an advantage, inconveniencing the opposition and greatly increasing the chances of further fan unrest.”
I hadn’t thought about that. It might end up in the courts, especially if Liverpool qualify for the Champions League ahead of, say, Chelsea.
10.39am EDT 10:39
“The media are currently being kept at a distance at the back of the Stretford End while searches continue inside Old Trafford for fans who entered the stadium. No word yet on when, or if, media will be allowed entry. Arrival to the ground was very straightforward and strict security-wise, which raises the question of how so many people were able to get inside the stadium from the opposite corner of Old Trafford.
“There was a small crowd of anti-Glazer protesters at the gates on John Gilbert Way. The gates were locked and opened only for those of us in cars with passes for the game, which were checked at three different security points before you were able to park up. A helicopter is hovering above Old Trafford and, right on cue, the heavens have opened.”
Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Updated at 10.40am EDT
10.38am EDT 10:38
“As an American, I’m very impressed by this show of fan intensity, I simply can’t imagine Cowboys fans taking over the stadium before a game because they’re sick of Jerry Jones. I’m curious if it reads any differently there, more complicated because of the history of fan violence that Britain has worked so hard to reduce.”
I’d imagine there are thousands of desperately frustrated people who would like to signal their disapproval via social media.
10.34am EDT 10:34
TEAM NEWS!!!
This is a bit weird: they’ve announced the teams an hour before the scheduled kick-off.
Oh, you want to actually know what they are? Fair enough.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Greenwood, Fernandes, Pogba; Rashford.Subs: de Gea, Bailly, Telles, Williams, Tuanzebe, Mata, Matic, van de Beek, Cavani.
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Kabak, Robertson; Thiago, Fabinho, Milner; Salah, Firmino, Mane.Substitutes: Adrian, Tsimikas, R Williams, Wijnaldum, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jota, Jones, Shaqiri.
10.32am EDT 10:32
There are unconfirmed reports of utter bloody chaos. I’d say there’s no chance of this game going ahead.
Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Updated at 10.42am EDT
10.30am EDT 10:30
“Given the level of entertainment from recent United/Liverpool games,” says David Wall, “would it be more of an anti-climax if the game went ahead or if it gets called off?”
Heh, very good. If it’s postponed, which looks increasingly inevitable, I wonder when they’ll play it. The only window, as far as I can see, is FA Cup final day.
10.23am EDT 10:23
Sky are reporting that the referee Michael Oliver has been turned away from the stadium. I think it’s fair to assume this game won’t be kicking off at 4.30pm.
Updated at 10.23am EDT
10.21am EDT 10:21
Whether the game goes ahead or not – and the Premier League are confident it will – there are serious questions to be asked regarding security, with the club and Greater Manchester Police hardly appearing to be on top of a situation they should have pre-empted. It should also be noted that last week United’s Carrington training base was also breached by a group of individuals.
10.18am EDT 10:18
The Premier League remained hopeful that the match would start on time with police having secured the area of the pitch, as they continued to work on making the outside safe for the teams to arrive. But the press have now just been asked to leave.
10.16am EDT 10:16
The Premier League are still saying the game will go ahead at 4.30pm. They say there has been no breach of Covid regulations because nobody has been in the dressing-rooms.
10.07am EDT 10:07
Sky Sports are saying that the teams will not leave their hotels until “they are happy that the stadium and its perimeter are secure”. There’s no chance this match is happening, is there.
4.58am EDT 04:58
Preamble
I suppose that’s one way to stop City winning the league today. Manchester United v Liverpool, which is scheduled to kick off at 4.30pm, is in doubt after a spectacular anti-Glazer protest at Old Trafford and in the city centre. The Man Utd players are still stuck in the Lowry Hotel, and hundreds of fans managed to get on the Old Trafford pitch. We’ll have more news as it happens. In the meantime, here’s Jamie Jackson’s news story.
Manchester United fans invade Old Trafford pitch during ‘Glazer out’ protests
Updated at 10.08am EDT