Manchester United fan groups are calling on the club to reverse ticket price increases in a letter to CEO Omar Berrada

Manchester United fans have sent a letter to the club’s chief executive Omar Berrada calling the newly announced ticket increases a “disgrace”.

Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), the Fan Advisory Board (FAB) and the Fans Forum are putting pressure on United’s football leadership to provoke a policy U-turn to increase seat prices for the remaining games at Old Trafford until 66 £ per piece.

The groups describe the increases, announced on Tuesday evening without consultation, as a “scandalous” treatment of younger fans who will not be granted preferential discounts under the new system.

The letter sent to Berrada also stressed that unilaterally implementing the changes “undermines the integrity” of the club’s fan engagement policy, which is a requirement of Premier League regulations.

The price increases, which will affect everyone wanting to buy a home ticket from now until the end of this season, are the result of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s determination to increase revenue to comply with financial rules. But MUST claims the move will generate “paltry returns”, making the real costs for under-16s even worse.

Berrada was appointed CEO by Ratcliffe this year and officially began his role in July.

The letter complete

Dear Omar,

We write on behalf of the members of the fan forum, the fan advisory board and the board and committee of MUST to protest in the strongest possible terms against the ticket price changes announced on November 26th.

These changes are a disgrace, both in their substance and in the way the club has implemented them.

First, they are making changes to mid-season ticket prices effective immediately. This has never happened before.

Second, the magnitude of the increase in individual fans is at unprecedented levels – up to 40% among adults and 164% among children. The worst part is the abolition of discounts for children and seniors. An U16 ticket that cost £25 at either end is now £66. A parent taking their child will now pay £132, around double the current price.

Surely we can all agree that the future of the club lies in young people going to the game with their parents? And yet it is scandalous that it is precisely this group that will suffer the greatest increases of all. Furthermore, it is extremely concerning that the Club has taken this approach in relation to discounted tickets and the way in which these policy changes have been communicated, taking into account the Premier League rules governing these issues.

Thirdly, this increase in ticket prices will undeniably have an impact on the 15/19 usage rules. Your terms and conditions state that a resold ticket can only be counted as used if the club must be able to resell it. Has the club carried out an analysis of how price increases would impact the uptake of these replacement cards? This is a direct mid-season change to the season ticket policy, the impact of which has certainly not yet been studied. Does the club intend to penalize season ticket holders who, despite their best efforts, violate the usage rules?

Ultimately, with the ink barely dry on your recently published fan engagement strategy and despite a consultation protocol agreed in discussions with FAB and MUST (one that specifically addressed ticket sales issues), the Club made this decision without any consultation whatsoever . The manner in which this has happened completely undermines the integrity of the club’s fan engagement processes. It is only worse that such an unprecedented and controversial approach has been taken, despite the meager returns this program will bring. This is a clear case that the cure is worse than the disease.

Tickets are the entry point for game fans. If you exploit them, you risk losing the goodwill and affinity that bring so much value to the club, not only in terms of team support but also financially, both in terms of fans’ discretionary spending also in terms of the value for the sponsors. The small gains in ticket revenue are offset by losses in these other areas. Compared to our main competitors, United has a proud history of fairer pricing, which in turn has helped us gain our strong loyal support over the decades. Decisions like these take that loyalty for granted and put it at risk.

The club’s announcement of these changes said they would like to work with fans to discuss longer-term changes to tickets and prices. Such engagement can only take place in an environment of mutual trust – and that was undermined this week. It’s as if the club has decided to take fan engagement back to the dark ages. This is unacceptable.

We now ask you for three things:

• Pause these changes until meetings can be held with the FAB and FF to properly discuss them.
• Recommit to the consultation principles previously agreed by the Club with FAB, FF and MUST.
• Together with all three committees, create the consultation plan that will govern ticket decisions for the next year.

We look forward to hearing from you in urgent cases.

United say they will respond appropriately and stress that the decision is a very difficult one to make.

(Carl Recine/Getty Images)