Manchester United have been urged to take action against ‘scumbag’ fans who have been posing as disabled supporters to get into matches.
Mail Sport reported this week that United had received ‘multiple’ allegations of non-disabled fans turning up to away games in a wheelchair using tickets allocated to disabled supporters.
The club have confirmed a series of measures designed to prevent a repeat of the scam, including ordering all disabled fans with a wheelchair ticket to collect with valid ID and increased checks outside of stadiums, amid widespread condemnation of those involved.
Fans found to have unlawfully passed on their tickets have also been warned they could face sanctions – including lengthy bans – for touting. Under the club’s rules, supporters are told to return their ticket for away games if they are unable to attend so they can be resold.
In response to Mail Sport’s reporting, Level Playing Field – one of the country’s leading disabled charities in sport – told United they must do more and said exploitation of the system ‘increases suspicion and discrimination’.
Man United fans have been posing as disabled fans to gain access to away games (United supporters at Anfield earlier this season pictured)
[data-podcast-container] #embed-iframe-wrapper { min-height: 160px; } [data-podcast-container] header#podcast-container-header { transform: none !important; }
‘These allegations must be treated with extreme severity,’ Level Playing Field chairman Tony Taylor said.
‘Abuse of ticketing for disabled fans by non-disabled fans can directly deny opportunities to attend live sport and also sets us back so far on education around disability.
‘Some of the rhetoric surrounding these reports online has been appalling. I myself am a part-time wheelchair user and will sometimes be seen using crutches instead.
‘Misunderstanding of that is widespread and if non-disabled fans exploit ticketing for disabled fans, they increase suspicion and discrimination there, as well as for fans with nonvisible disabilities and those who may have fluctuating disabilities, in addition to directly denying access to the matchday through their selfishness.
‘This behaviour cannot be tolerated, and the club must take action to ensure that tickets for disabled fans go to disabled fans.’
Disability charity Scope told Mail Sport the allegations were ‘disheartening’ and warned those found abusing the system of the ‘damaging consequences of their actions’.
‘There are already a multitude of barriers faced by disabled football fans from inaccessible stadiums and issues with public transport to negative attitudes from other fans,’ Scope spokesperson Allison Kerry said.
‘Disabled football fans should always have equal access to support their team.’
Mikey Erhardt, campaigner at Disability Rights UK, added: ‘Non-disabled people abusing support and services designed for disabled people is always disappointing, whether it is people wrongly using disabled people’s parking bays or football fans.
‘We cannot be surprised that a situation like this arises, when rhetoric from the government and its media outriders demonises disabled people and the support we need at every turn.
‘However, we mustn’t let these abuses lead to more complex processes, as this would make it harder for genuine disabled fans to get the access we need. We hope that the club works with its disabled fans, to ensure we are all welcome and treated equally.’
Liverpool’s Disabled Supporter Association also weighed into the row. ‘We fully support the stance @ManUtd, and our friends @MudsaO are taking in support of their disabled supporters. This is truly shocking! Enough is enough,’ they wrote on X.
Chas Banks, secretary of the MUDSA, slammed the ‘scumbags’ who had been caught using disabled tickets to access away games and said some of these fans had been spotted in a wheelchair area one week, before jumping out of their seats when United score a goal the next.
United have initiated a series of measures designed from stopping the scam from happening in future
‘I have seen with my own eyes evidence of these scumbags doing this, and I have the photos,’ Banks told a recent meeting of the Fans Forum.
‘To the extent of them twice having been seen watching the match whilst sitting in a wheelchair on the wheelchair platform, and then the next game being seen standing in the able-bodied section bouncing up and down when United score a goal.
‘I dearly hope that the anyone who gets caught at it receives the harshest possible sanction.
‘This is not a victimless crime, and I find it very sad that some of the people who are losing out to these horrible selfish fans really are the least deserving of being robbed of their chance to get a ticket that they are entitled to. Because I promise you, for many of them, time is not on their side.’
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Mail Online
