Manchester United season ticket holder banned by the club

Manchester United’s off-field business has continued to generate headlines throughout the summer, running well beyond the club’s dealings in the transfer market.

Michael Carrick’s recruitment drive has dominated the agenda since the window opened, with several major arrivals confirmed in recent weeks.

Away from the pitch, however, one issue has continued to cause friction between the club and its own supporter base.

Fallout from United’s anti-touting crackdown has shown no sign of settling as the new season gets underway.

One fan holding both a regular season ticket and an executive box season ticket has now been handed a one-year ban, as Samuel Luckhurst reported on X.

The latest sanction comes amid ongoing backlash after United’s automated system mistakenly restricted the accounts of thousands of genuine supporters during July and August.

United launched their investigation last month after identifying account activity the club believed warranted closer examination.

Thousands of supporters reportedly had restrictions placed on their accounts, with some left unsure why they had been targeted or whether their season tickets faced permanent cancellation.

Among those affected was a six-year-old supporter, whose mother said the restriction stemmed from repeated logins by extended family members who regularly shared the account to sit together at Old Trafford.

United have since admitted making mistakes during the investigation, acknowledging they underestimated how often supporters shared account details for reasons they considered legitimate.

Supporters’ groups MUST, The 1958 and The Red Army released a joint statement accepting that touting deserves robust action.

The crackdown follows a similar operation last season, when United cancelled 22,000 tickets across the club’s opening five home fixtures.

Chief executive Omar Berrada was directly challenged by supporters in person over the club’s process, with fans approaching him in the hospitality area of Gothenburg’s Ullevi Stadium before United’s pre-season friendly against Paris Saint-Germain.

United have established an independent appeals panel, supported by senior management, to review disputed cases on an individual basis.

The club has said it remains confident the majority of flagged accounts were correctly identified, while accepting that some innocent supporters were also caught up in the process.

Manchester City have taken similar action this year, banning 165 accounts for touting while suspending a further 354 and placing 223 under close monitoring.

Liverpool, too, have pursued an aggressive anti-touting policy in recent seasons, issuing 75 lifetime bans and shutting down close to 100,000 fake accounts.

Alongside the ticketing controversy, United have confirmed a 5% rise in season ticket prices for the new campaign, taking the cheapest adult general admission price to £646.

The combination of rising costs and the ongoing touting dispute has left some supporters questioning the club’s handling of matchday access this season.