Entering last weekend Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stated his belief that the club’s fans have the right to protest, but that they must be peaceful in doing so. This past Sunday was anything but peaceful as a couple hundred or so United supporters broke into Old Trafford, stormed the pitch, committed vandalism and reportedly injured a dozen police officers.
The chaos that resulted after the fan demonstration against Glazer family ownership of the club got United’s home match with Liverpool canceled, and on Wednesday Solskjaer reaffirmed his position.
Manchester United vs AS Roma UEL Semifinal FYIs
The second of the two legged tie will kickoff on Thursday May 6 from Stadio Olimpico in Rome at 8pm. United hold a lead of 6-2 in tie on aggregate. The match will be televised on BT Sport. If you’re somebody who is in to betting on sports you back the draw at odds of 3/1 and the under on 2.5 goals scored at odds of 7/4. In terms of betting on the winner, Roma can be had for 14/5 while Manchester United are backed at 17/20. As always, wager responsibly.
To assist you in betting on this match, we have more information available related to the tie. Our United Starting XI Prediction can be found here. The team news for both sides can be found here.
The Norwegian says that the demonstrations this past Sunday went too far,
“It was a difficult day for us,” Solskjaer said during his pre-UEL media availability today.
“We wanted to play, we wanted to beat Liverpool for the fans. As I’ve said before, we have to listen and have to hear the fans’ voice. It’s everyone’s right to protest but it has to be civilised and in a peaceful manner.
“Unfortunately when you break in, when police officers get injured, that’s one step too far and unfortunately now when it gets out of hand like this it’s a police matter, it’s not about showing opinions any more.”
As of now, the protests don’t seem to have done anything towards weaking the Glazers’ resolve in maintaining ownership of the club.
What happens in the board room/the future of the club, from an ownership standpoint, is of course well beyond OGS’s paygrade, as his job is to make sure the off-the-pitch drama doesn’t adversely impact the on-the-pitch product.
United are close to locking up a runners-up finish in the Premier League and are all but through to the Europa League final. This will be the first cup final of the OGS era, and when they get there, they’ll play the winner of Arsenal/Villareal.
There is only a little bit of season left, but the Red Devils need to stay focused in order to close it out.
“My focus has to be on the results but you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see we have challenges and frictions,” Solskjaer continued.
“Other individuals than me have started already, discussing with fans, communicating with fan groups, which is going to be massive going forward.
“The players have done terrific to be where they are. I would be sad if all the good work players have done is disrupted. Our focus is on playing well and getting to a final.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
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