Manchester United match halted due to drone issue

Manchester United’s match was briefly halted after an unidentified drone was spotted flying above the stadium, forcing officials to pause play for safety reasons.

According to BBC Sport, the incident occurred during United’s Under-21 clash against Newcastle United at Leigh Sports Village.

The referee Melissa Burgin stopped the game in the second half as players were instructed to move to the side of the pitch.

Play was suspended for around three minutes before continuing once it was deemed safe.

The referee was forced to briefly halt the match again later in the contest due to the same issue.

It marks the first time a United youth fixture has been officially stopped because of a drone drone.

The disruption came during what proved to be a disappointing outing for the Red Devils.

Adam Lawrence’s side fell to a 3-1 defeat against Newcastle in their final regular season fixture.

Despite the result, United still secured a second-place finish in the Premier League 2 table.

They’ve ensured home advantage in the upcoming play-offs depending on progression.

It also rounded off a difficult week for the academy, following their Premier League international Cup exit against Real Madrid.

In that fixture, Under-18s winger Noah Ajayi stepped up an age group to feature for the Under-21s, underlining the club’s continued focus on fast-tracking young talent through the ranks.

There was also a notable absence in the squad.

18-year-old right-winger Shea Lacey was not involved at all.

The younger, who began the season as a regular in the Under-21 setup, has recently been tipped for a breakthrough into the squad, which could explain his omission from this fixture.

While the result will be a setback, attention now turns to the play-offs, where United’s young side will look to respond and finish the campaign strongly.

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