The Manchester United Muslim Supporters group, MUMSC, didn’t hold back this weekend, declaring that club co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe “must go.” This isn’t just a casual fan complaint, folks; this is a direct call for change at the very top, fueled by Ratcliffe’s recent public statements against immigration levels and his claim that the country is “on the slide.”
Ratcliffe’s Repeated Stumbles
Billionaire Ratcliffe, who jumped into Man Utd with a 27.7% stake back in 2024, made these latest comments in a BBC interview on Saturday. He blamed a mix of high taxes and high immigration for the UK’s supposed decline, a take that clearly didn’t sit well with MUMSC. And get this, it’s not the first time. The guy had to apologize back in February for “offending some people” after he said the UK had been “colonised by immigrants.” At that time, United themselves put out a statement saying the club “prides itself” on being “inclusive.” Even a source familiar with the Glazer family reportedly found Ratcliffe’s initial remarks “horrified” and saw them as showing “disregard for their ownership.” MUMSC said they condemned those comments then and “hoped a lesson had been learned.” Their Saturday statement was blunt: “Clearly, it has not.” They called his latest comments “deeply disappointing and completely unacceptable,” especially because he keeps putting immigration and benefits at the center of Britain’s problems, saying nobody is “tough enough” to deal with them.
More Than Just Words: The Ownership Woes
Let’s not forget, Ratcliffe is a significant figure. He’s one of Britain’s richest people, founder of petrochemical giant Ineos, campaigned for Brexit in 2016, and has been a tax resident in Monaco since 2020. Since he bought his stake in 2024, he’s been busy, overseeing 450 redundancies, overhauling senior management, and even sacking two managers. MUMSC isn’t just mad about the comments, either. They’re pointing to broader issues, highlighting that United’s “players, staff, stewards, security teams and supporters come from different countries, cultures, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds.” For them, that diversity is not a weakness, it is “part of Manchester United.” And while they hoped Ratcliffe’s arrival would signal “meaningful change” after the Glazer family had “presided over Manchester United’s decline,” their concerns “now extend beyond the pitch.” We’re talking “higher ticket prices” and “a stadium allowed to deteriorate,” on top of the team itself “continuing to fall further behind where Manchester United should be.”
On-Field Struggles Echo Ownership Chaos
Speaking of the team, the on-field situation isn’t exactly helping calm the waters. Manchester United hit the weekend sitting 13th in the Premier League, with only four points from their first four games. And just this past Wednesday, they got bounced from the Carabao Cup with a 3-2 home defeat to Brighton. After “years of decline, broken promises and repeated failure,” MUMSC has officially “lost confidence in the current ownership structure.” Their message is loud and clear, a sentiment you can feel reverberating through the fanbase: “Enough is enough. It is time for change. The Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe must go.” What a mess, and the fans are demanding action right now.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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