Man United fans march to Old Trafford to protest club's ownership

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United fans marched to Old Trafford to protest the club's ownership on Sunday in the face of ticket price rises, job cuts and onfield decline.

Thousands of supporters gathered for a pre-arranged demonstration ahead of the Premier League game against Arsenal, with lit flares and raised banners demanding a change of ownership at the record 20-time English champion.

Fans were asked to wear black in “solidarity,” and they marched through the streets surrounding United's Old Trafford ground and up to the stadium before kickoff.

The protest, organized by fan group The 1958, came just over a year since British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe bought into the storied team and vowed to return it to the summit of European soccer.

Some fans chanted in protest against Ratcliffe, while others held up banners demanding the club's majority-owning Glazer family sell up.

Both Ratcliffe and director Edward Glazer were in attendance for the match.

Fans have long campaigned to drive out the American Glazer family, which also also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fans have been critical of the leveraged nature of the Glazers’ buyout for 790 million pounds (then about $1.4 billion) in 2005 that loaded debt onto the club.

Ratcliffe, a boyhood fan and owner of petrochemicals giant Ineos, paid $1.3 billion for an initial 25% stake in the club last year, but has overseen a turbulent period of major cost cutting and record underperformance on the field.

United said last month that up to 200 roles would go in a latest round of cuts, following the loss of around 250 last year.

Managerial great Alex Ferguson's lucrative ambassadorial role will also go at the end of the season, while United raised its lowest-priced tickets to 66 pounds ($81) partway through the campaign, up from 40 pounds ($49).

On the field, United is languishing in the bottom half of the standings after 12 losses in the league, following its worst ever Premier League campaign last term. The second-tier Europa League is its only chance of silverware this season and a route back into the Champions League.

One banner read: “RIP FAN CULTURE.”

Fan group The Red Army posted on X that “we should all get behind these protests, once our fan culture has been destroyed, there’ll be nothing left worth fighting for.”

Supporter and author John Ludden wrote in an emotionally worded blog that the Glazers and now Ineos were operating “ignorant of what they represent”.

Inside the stadium a banner was raised that read: “Stop exploiting loyalty.”

Even after United took the lead through a first-half goal from captain Bruno Fernandes, cheers were quickly followed by chants of “Glazers out!”

United did not comment on the protest when contacted by The Associated Press.

The match ended 1-1.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, center, celebrates scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, center, waits for the start of the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

A Manchester United fan holds up a sign with concerns to ticket pricing prior to the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United fans protest against the club's owners, the Glazer family, prior to the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United fans protest against the club's owners, the Glazer family, prior to the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

LYON, France (AP) — Forward Jule Brand scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute as OL Lyonnes beat titleholder Arsenal 3-1 to reach the Women’s Champions League final on Saturday.

Goals from captain Wendie Renard and striker Kadidiatou Diani put Lyon 2-0 up at halftime, but Alessia Russo's competition-leading ninth goal looked to have sent the game into extra time.

But Brand latched onto Melchie Dumornay's pass to make it 4-3 on aggregate for record eight-time champion Lyon, which lost the first leg 2-1.

Lyon will face either Bayern Munich or three-time champion Barcelona. They play on Sunday and are locked at 1-1 after the first leg in Germany, when Bayern goalscorer Franziska Kett was sent off for pulling the hair of an opponent.

The final will be in Oslo on May 23.

A frantic opening at Groupama Stadium saw a header from Lyon midfielder Lindsey Heaps ruled out following a video review.

But VAR went Lyon's way midway through the first half when a penalty was awarded after defender Lotte Wubben-Moy fouled Dumornay from behind.

Renard scored the penalty on her second attempt.

Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar saved the first one but the kick was re-taken for encroachment in the area, and Renard sent her the wrong way with her second effort.

Arsenal benefited from two defensive blunders to win the first leg 2-1 in London, but struggled from corners against Lyon.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Lyonnes' Wendie Renard, left, gets to the ball ahead of Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius, right, during the Women's Champions League semifinal, second leg, soccer match between OL Lyonnes and Arsenal, in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Lyonnes' Wendie Renard, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot during the Women's Champions League semifinal, second leg, soccer match between OL Lyonnes and Arsenal, in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Arsenal's Smilla Holmberg and Alessia Russo, left, drive the ball past Lyonnes' Selma Bacha, eon the ground, during the Women's Champions League semifinal, second leg, soccer match between OL Lyonnes and Arsenal, in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Lyonnes' Jule Brand, left, scores her side's third goal during the Women's Champions League semifinal, second leg, soccer match between OL Lyonnes and Arsenal, in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Lyonnes' Jule Brand celebrates after scoring her side's third goal during the Women's Champions League semifinal, second leg, soccer match between OL Lyonnes and Arsenal, in Decines, outside Lyon, France, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)