Manchester United is considering installing a protective net in front of the stand of visiting team to protect the disabled fans. Old Trafford’s stand of away team is above the disabled special zone, and disabled fans are often hit by all sorts of intentionally or unintentionally thrown debris, like coins, umbrellas and even bottles filled with urine.
In the match between Manchester United and the Wolves, a smoke bomb landed among several fans in wheelchairs, which made Manchester United officially consider protecting the safety of disabled fans. So, in the following two Champions League games against Juventus and Young Boys Bern, Manchester United officially installed a protective net in front of the visiting team’s stand and the effect was very good.
Team managers are carefully studying ways and means of installing a protective net. One of the options is to install a protective net before those games that may have a risk.
Manchester United’s disabled fans’ organization is very supportive of this move, and even hopes that this kind of protective net can become a long-term facility. They said that from time to time, they would be hit by chocolate, apple pie or even a one-time lighter. In some big games, such as the Manchester City Derby in 2009, after Owen’s goal, they were hit by the coins that were accumulated up to £13.48.
The Premier League does not have a ban on the installation of protective nets, so this totally depends Manchester United’s own management team. Manchester United has a dedicated team of security advisors to solve these problems. In other parts of Europe, protective nets are quite common. For example, many stadiums in Germany have installed such facilities, and the protective nets can be quickly removed in special circumstances.
Recently, more than one player has been hit by debris by fans at the sidelines. Just in the North London Derby last weekend, Tottenham fans threw banana peels to visiting team’s striker Aubameyang. Now that fan has been sued by the police and permanently pulled into the blacklist by Tottenham.
At the same time, Manchester United is still considering the construction of a roaring area that can contain 4000 people, bringing together some of the most powerful fans to cheer for the team and make the atmosphere more exciting and noisy. This grandstand is planned to put into use in the 2021-2022 season. And next season, 1,200 supporters will move from the current singing stand to the famous Scharford stand in Old Trafford, where they will continue to cheer for the team.