Premier League
WHY MANCHESTER UNITED FANS DISLIKE THE GLAZERS FAMILY
It has certainly been a year of sporting contrasts for American businessman Joel Glazer.
In February, he was in celebratory mood, raising the Vince Lombardi trophy as his National Football League team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won the Super Bowl, led by veteran quarterback Tom Brady.
Three months later, his English Premier League soccer team, Manchester United,had to call off their match against rivals Liverpool following violent protests against the American’s ownership of the club.
The Florida-based Glazer family have owned United since 2005 and have faced fan opposition from the moment they completed their takeover but the leading role they played in the failed attempt to launch the European Super League last month has reignited the protests.
United were due to play traditional rivals Liverpool on Sunday (May 2) but the game was called off by authorities due to safety concerns after protesters clashed with police and some invaded the field.
One group of supporters broke through security and into the stadium, which was closed to fans due to Covid-19 restrictions, protesting on the field and damaging some property inside the ground.
The late Malcolm Glazer, the family patriarch who made his fortune in real estate and stocks, bought United in May 2005 for £790 million (S$1.45 billion), after entering the sports business in 1995 with a takeover of the Buccaneers.
Since his death in 2014, his two sons Joel and Avram have been co-chairmen of United, with the former playing a prominent part in the recent Super League controversy – he was named the short-lived breakaway’s founding vice-chairman.
That affair has relit the always smouldering protest movement amongst United fans and had now thrown the club into crisis.
Glazer has apologised for the club’s involvement in the project, which would have seen 12 of the top clubs in Europe breakaway from the established structures to create a privately owned championship.
But United fans have not accepted the apology.
“Actions speak louder than words and he and his family have shown time and again that their sole motivation is personal profit at the expense of our football club,” The Manchester United Supporters Trust said in a statement on Friday.
Former United captain Gary Neville, now a prominent television analyst, said on Sunday that that Glazer’s hope of “rebuilding trust” was a forlorn one.
General distrust
“The Glazers say they want to rebuild the trust but they never had the trust of the supporters. I think (the protests are) a warning to the owners of the football club that ultimately they’re not going to accept what they’ve done in the last couple of weeks,” he said.
“This is a consequence of the Manchester United owners’ actions two weeks ago. There is a general distrust and dislike of the owners, but they weren’t protesting two or three weeks ago.”
The initial hostility to the Glazers was focused on the nature of their takeover – a leveraged deal in which United took on loans of £525 million to finance the acquisition.
An effigy of Malcolm Glazer was burnt in the street during mass protests and there was even a new club, FC United of Manchester, created by fans in 2005.
But the retirement of the club’s hugely successful manager Alex Ferguson, who won a record 13 Premier League championships and two European Champions League titles, led to another wave of opposition to the Glazers.
United have not won a Premier League title since Ferguson’s departure in 2013, struggling to compete with local rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.
Many protests have focused on the Glazer-appointed executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward who, while widely praised for the club’s commercial success in striking global sponsorship deals, was blamed for a succession of poor player signings and coaching appointments.
Woodward tendered his resignation in the midst of the Super League fall-out but his departure has done nothing to calm the anger of hard-core United fans.
Neville agrees with the protesting fans that the Americans should now sell the club.
“My view is quite simply that they’re going to make a fortune if they sell the club and if they were to put it up for sale now, I think the time would be right, and it would be the honourable thing to do,” he said.
But the Glazers have lasted 16 years in the face of hostility and there has been no indication they plan a quick sale.
United issued a statement on the protests on Sunday but did not address the question of their owners’ future or provide any comment from Glazer.
“Our fans are passionate about Manchester United, and we completely acknowledge the right to free expression and peaceful protest,” the club said. “However, we regret the disruption to the team and actions which put other fans, staff, and the police in danger.”
-Reuters
England and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence by a Greek court over a 2020 incident in Mykonos, Sky Sports reported on Wednesday.
In 2020, Maguire was found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery and violence against public employees after his arrest in a brawl in which two police officers were assaulted.
Maguire, who was detained for two days following the incident and denied any wrongdoing, was handed a suspended prison sentence of 21 months and 10 days but was granted a full retrial after appealing against Greek court convictions on multiple charges.
In accordance with the Greek judicial process, the filing nullified Maguire’s conviction before a full retrial in a more senior court. His retrial was postponed many times.
Maguire faced allegations of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery. The 32-year-old was convicted on all three counts but will face no prison time. His legal team will appeal against the guilty verdict, Sky Sports reported.
Maguire’s brother Joe and friend Christopher Sharman were also found guilty of offences related to the incident and received suspended prison sentences in 2020. They also denied any wrongdoing.
-Reuters
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Arsenal maintained control of the Premier League title race as they chiselled out a nervy 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table on Sunday.
Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute header from a Declan Rice corner ensured Arsenal took three precious points, but it was a nervy afternoon in north London.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved to 64 points from 29 games, with Manchester City, who have played a game fewer, on 59.
Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber celebrates scoring their second goal with Gabriel Magalhaes REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Defender William Saliba had given Arsenal the lead in the 21st minute from a trademark corner routine.
But it had looked as though an own goal by Piero Hincapie just before halftime would prove costly for the hosts until Timber came to their rescue.
Chelsea, whose six-match unbeaten league sequence under new manager Liam Rosenior was halted, ended the match with 10 men after Pedro Neto was sent off for a second yellow card.
-Reuters
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Premier League
Manchester United climb to third in Premier League table with come-from-behind win over Palace
Manchester United produced a stirring second-half comeback to defeat Crystal Palace 2–1 at Old Trafford on Sunday, with captain Bruno Fernandes inspiring the turnaround that lifted the hosts into third place in the Premier League standings.
Trailing inside four minutes after a dominant start by Palace, United responded through a Fernandes penalty before his pinpoint free-kick was headed home by Benjamin Sesko to seal victory against the 10-man visitors.
The win extended interim manager Michael Carrick’s unbeaten run to seven matches since taking charge in mid-January. United now have 51 points from 28 games and are unbeaten since the January 5 dismissal of Ruben Amorim, climbing into third for the first time since May 2023. Palace remain 14th on 35 points.
“It feels like a big result, we were behind and had to show some character,” Fernandes told Sky Sports. “There are a lot of games to go still, and it is important that we don’t feel that we are in the position that we need to be. We need to make as many points as we can.”
Palace, under Oliver Glasner, were electric in the opening half hour, capitalising on sluggish United play. Defender Maxence Lacroix powered home a header from a corner after muscling past Leny Yoro, scoring the earliest goal United have conceded this season.
The visitors nearly doubled their advantage when Daniel Munoz latched onto an Ismaila Sarr through ball, but goalkeeper Senne Lammens produced a crucial save.
United gradually found their rhythm before the break. Sesko forced Dean Henderson into action with a header from a Fernandes cross, and the Palace keeper also tipped a Fernandes free kick over the bar.
The turning point arrived in the 57th minute when Fernandes converted from the penalty spot after Matheus Cunha was dragged down by Lacroix. Following a lengthy VAR review, Lacroix was shown a red card, reducing Palace to 10 men.
Eight minutes later, Fernandes’ delivery again proved decisive as Sesko rose highest to nod home the winning goal.
United pushed for a third, with Casemiro’s volley drawing a diving save from Henderson and substitute Amad Diallo testing the keeper from distance in stoppage time. Joshua Zirkzee saw efforts blocked, while Kobbie Mainoo’s fierce strike drifted narrowly wide.
Carrick praised his team’s resilience. “The biggest thing for us to take from the game is really the first time that we have been in that situation going in at halftime,” he said. “Being in that position and how we react and showing that personality and belief… to then come back as we did in the second half is the biggest thing for me today.”
Palace pressed late but could not find an equaliser. Glasner admitted his side had let the game slip. “It feels like there was more possible today. A great first 30 minutes, but the red card changed it completely. The second goal just happened too quickly.”
For United, the victory reinforces growing belief under Carrick that a top-four finish—and a return to Europe’s elite competition—is firmly within reach.
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