Utd

The Manchester United Muslim Supporters group says club co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe “must go” after he spoke out against immigration levels and said the country was “on the slide”.

Billionaire Ratcliffe, who is one of Britain’s richest people and founder of petrochemical giant Ineos, made the comments in an interview with the BBC on Saturday.

Ratcliffe said the UK was in decline because of a combination of high taxes and high immigration.

He has previously apologised for “offending some people” with his language after saying the UK had been “colonised by immigrants”.

At the time, in February, United responded by saying the club “prides itself” on being “inclusive”, while BBC Sport cited a source familiar with the Glazer family as understanding the club’s majority shareholders were “horrified” by his initial remarks and saw them as showing “disregard for their ownership”.

“We condemned those comments then,” said a statement of no confidence from Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club (MUMSC) in the club’s ownership, issued on Saturday.

“He [Ratcliffe] subsequently apologised for his choice of language. We hoped a lesson had been learned. Clearly, it has not.

“This week, Sir Jim has again placed immigration and people receiving benefits at the centre of his explanation for Britain’s problems, arguing that nobody is ‘tough enough’ to deal with either.

“We find these latest comments deeply disappointing and completely unacceptable.”

Ratcliffe campaigned for a Leave vote in the 2016 European Union referendum and has been a tax resident in Monaco since 2020.

He acquired a 27.7% stake in Man Utd in 2024, and has since restructured the organisation, overseeing 450 redundancies, overhauling senior management and sacking two managers.

MUMSC highlighted that United’s “players, staff, stewards, security teams and supporters come from different countries, cultures, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds”.

The group added: “Manchester United would not be Manchester United without them. That diversity isn’t a weakness of Manchester United. It is part of Manchester United.”

In the statement, the MUMSC also called on the Glazer family to go.

MUMSC said its members were among the club’s fans who hoped Ratcliffe’s arrival “would finally signal meaningful change” after the Glazer family had “presided over Manchester United’s decline”.

However, the group pointed to “higher ticket prices” and “a stadium allowed to deteriorate”, along with “a football team that continues to fall further behind where Manchester United should be”, among their concerns which “now extend beyond the pitch”.

Manchester United entered the weekend sitting 13th in the Premier League after gaining four points from their first four Premier League games, and they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday with a 3-2 home defeat by Brighton.

“After years of decline, broken promises and repeated failure, Manchester United Muslim Supporters’ Club has lost confidence in the current ownership structure of Manchester United Football Club,” MUMSC concluded.

“Enough is enough. It is time for change. The Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe must go.”

In the past 24 hours there has been a backlash against Gabriel and his family, for the direction he is taking and around his professionalism and attitude.

Sources close to the player believe this is massively unfair and overlooks the dedication and commitment which means he is so well-regarded by so many clubs.

In addition, he is not the first young player to have a difference of opinion over their future direction with their club.

Jadon Sancho was 17 when he stopped training at City to force through a £10m move to Borussia Dortmund in the belief that he would play more often in Germany than under Pep Guardiola.

Morgan Rogers was Barry’s team-mate in the West Brom side that reached the FA Youth Cup semi-final in 2019. Within three months he had left for City, a move completed on his 17th birthday.

Sources feel that, in meetings with the United hierarchy that led to Gabriel committing his short-term future to the club last summer, promises were made over his career path that have not been kept.

He did start to appear in senior training sessions, initially under Ruben Amorim and then Michael Carrick, but speculation around a senior debut last season, which could only be in the FA Cup, was doused by Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher, who had by now taken the senior team manager’s role on an interim basis following Amorim’s dismissal. Fletcher felt it was too early for Gabriel.

It had been anticipated that Gabriel would feature during United’s pre-season programme.

His absence from the trip to Helsinki for a meeting with Wrexham on 18 July was put down to the date he returned for pre-season training.

He was part of every squad after that, but played only once, for eight minutes against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm.

Did that lack of action sow the seeds of discontent? Gabriel travelled to Trondheim for a meeting with Rosenborg on 24 July. Carrick used 11 substitutes that day. Gabriel was one of two United players who did not come on. Five of those who did have left, either permanently or on loan.

It was noted that 18-year-old Tynan Thompson was given a 45-minute senior debut against Leeds United at Croke Park – another game Gabriel travelled to but was not involved in – three weeks after his arrival from Tottenham.

Nevertheless, it was felt Gabriel was likely to become United’s youngest player this autumn – probably in the EFL Cup.

While the third-round draw delivered an Old Trafford rematch with Brighton, United’s Champions League schedule opened up another avenue.

It is conceivable that Azerbaijani champions Sabah could be the least difficult home game Carrick’s side have this season.

United were 3-0 up at half-time and Carrick had used all five substitutes by the 72th minute.

But Gabriel was not among them. As with Max Dowman at Arsenal last season, Uefa’s registration rules meant that, because he was 15, Gabriel could only feature if he was named on United’s A list of players.

It is not entirely clear why that did not happen. United named a maximum of 25 players, but among them was midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who will not play until after the registration window opens again in January because of a knee injury. Thompson was also on the list.

United coaches have previously suggested that Gabriel is not yet at the physical level required to be a senior player. Sources close to the player reject this.

Instead, they see how Arsenal gave Dowman his chance at 15 and Bayern Munich gave Lennart Karl his debut at 17, and wonder why United are not doing the same.

Senne Lammens: Not as busy as he might have expected to be. Absolutely vital save from Fernandez to prevent City second. 7

Diogo Dalot: If only he had been able to control Bruno Fernandes’ chipped pass into the penalty area he might have marked his 250th Manchester United appearance with a rare goal. Didn’t look down the line to see he was clearly offside as United pressed just before half-time. Screwed shot wide after break. 4

Harry Maguire: Decent performance from veteran central defender and not far away from an equaliser with late header. Needless push on Enzo Fernandez in the box, for which he was booked. 6

Lisandro Martinez: Didn’t dive in when Bruno Fernandes played a pass towards his own goal straight to Erling Haaland and won the ball from the Norwegian. Decent effort 7

Patrick Dorgu: Replaced Luke Shaw at left back in the starting 11 and did OK but doesn’t have the same link with Rashford. Attempted block proved so crucial to City’s opener. 6

Kobbie Mainoo: Another assured display in front of England boss Thomas Tuchel. Came close to giving his side the lead just after half-time and was home side’s most effective midfielder. 8

Youri Tielemans (off 66, Sesko): Best performance of the season so far but yet to make the standout contribution expected. 7

Bryan Mbeumo: Probably United’s most-effective attacking player. Header just wide before injury-time effort saved. 8

Bruno Fernandes: Fortunate to get away with no sanction at all over the incident that led to Foden’s dismissal. Not one of his better efforts 6

Marcus Rashford (off 83, Zirkzee): Curling long-range free-kick against the post with Donnarumma beaten and shot into side-netting but still waiting for first goal since his return. 6

Matheus Cunha: Preferred to Benjamin Sesko in starting line-up and dragged early shot wide. Got involved on plenty of occasions, but again by dropping deep. Off target with a second-half opportunity. 7

Subs:

Benjamin Sesko (on 66, Tielemans): Brought on to make an impact and tried his luck from distance soon afterwards. 6

Joshua Zirkzee (on 83, Rashford) 6

Subs not used: Darlow, Mazraoui, Mount, Yoro, Santos, Heaven, Lacey.