Manchester United Supporters Trust raise questions over ‘sporting integrity’ amid bids for the club
Concerns about “sporting integrity and LGBTQ+ rights” were raised after the initial bids were made to buy Manchester United.
The club’s American owners, the Glazer family, set a 10pm deadline for the submission of bids to buy the club on Friday night, with both Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar submitting bids.
The owners are not expected to deviate from their £6bn asking price for the club.
Qatar’s offer has raised some concerns among fans. Al Thani is the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), which lists the Qatari Investment Authority (QIA) as its largest shareholder.
As the QIA also owns the Qatar Sports Authority (QSA), which in turn owns European club Paris Saint-Germain, some fan organizations have questioned the bid.
A statement on the recent offers from the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) read: “There are questions about sporting integrity given the exceptionally close ties between some bidders and the owners of other European clubs, including PSG and Nice.
“There are also questions about whether any bids will also be based on high levels of debt.”
“We encourage all bidders to open a dialogue with supporter groups alongside the application process with the club to discuss their proposals including the above points.”
MUST also made it clear that any prospective owner “should respect the rights of all people, especially women and the LGBTQ+ community. Concerns have been raised by other fan groups, which we fully support.’
Alongside the treatment of migrant workers, LGBTQ+ rights were a dominant theme at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, a country that criminalizes same-sex relationships.
MUST’s final point focused on United’s support on the pitch, as they added: “Everyone can see the progress the team is making under Erik Ten Hag.
“After the frustrations of the past decade, it is clear that tremendous progress is being made. Any potential bidder must make a firm commitment to support Erik and his plans to bring United back to glory.’
Ten Hag’s side are currently leading their Premier League clash 3-0 at Leicester after two goals from Marcus Rashford and one from Jaden Sancho.