m.u.s.t : statement
This statement relates to the Glazer family’s failure to act on or respond to a letter from Richard Caborn, Tony Blair’s Minister for Sport, requesting them to meet with Manchester United fans’ organisations. It is issued in response to comments made last week by a spokesman for the Glazer family following the resignation of two directors of the club.
“It comes as no surprise for IMUSA to learn from statements made last week by “a Glazer spokesman” that the Glazer family’s main agenda for their ownership of Manchester United is the progression of their financial plans for the “brand”.”
Fans’ issues were not addressed in the statements made by this spokesman and the concerns of supporters’ organisations that have been trying, without success, to meet with the Glazer family since they first took over in 2005 have once again been ignored.
A delegation of Manchester United fans met with the Minister of Sport, Richard Caborn in November 2005 to discuss the difficulties in communicating with the clubs’ owners. At this meeting Mr Caborn undertook to try to broker a meeting between the Glazers and the fans.
“Richard Caborn sent a letter to Malcolm Glazer in March 2006 requesting that he arrange a meeting with Manchester United fans’ organisations. In this letter Mr Caborn said that he thought it would be “beneficial for both parties to discuss how IMUSA can work with you [the Glazers] to play an active role in enhancing the club’s role in local communities of Salford and Manchester and to help the club go from strength to strength in the coming years”.”
No reply to this letter has ever been received and given the amount of time that has now elapsed since this request was made, it now seems unlikely that one ever will be.
“IMUSA understands that Malcolm Glazer’s is chronically ill. Nonetheless, work at Manchester United appears to be carrying on as normal. If the family’s spokesman is to be believed, the business is even thriving. We therefore do not understand, given the gravity of a written request from a Minister of State, why no other member of the Glazer family has assumed responsibility for responding to Mr Caborn’s letter.”
“We are astonished that a written request, that was then followed up with a telephone reminder, made by the Minister for Sport in Tony Blair’s government to the owners of a Premier League football club for them to meet with representatives of the fans of their team, has not even been given the courtesy of a reply.”
“The Glazer’s have only ever addressed the fans once, on MUTV the club’s own TV station and that was well over a year ago. Whilst they have stressed the importance of communication with the fans, channels available for this were severely restricted when David Gill dismissed both IMUSA and MUST3 from the Premiership required Fan’s Forum at the end of the season before last.
In consequence, the Fan’s Forum at Manchester United is now composed entirely of people appointed by the business and no longer has any democratically elected representatives whatsoever.”
“IMUSA does not believe that the Glazer family has a serious interest in communicating with fans’ organisations and we feel that this shows just how far removed football is from the “the People’s Game” it was once intended to be.”
“There is no doubt that the presence of big business in football is detrimental to the wellbeing of the game as whole and that it is depressing to its spirit. We feel that this is something that both the FA and the Government need to be addressing as a matter of urgency.”
