Police arrested two people involved in protests as Malcolm Glazer's sons visited Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium for the first time since their father bought the world's richest soccer club.
A 19-year-old man was charged with a public-order offense and possession of a CS gas canister, Greater Manchester Police said yesterday.
About 200 people protested on Wednesday outside the stadium as Joel, Avi and Bryan Glazer toured the stadium as part of a 48-hour trip to England.
PHOTO: AP
"We want to confront them. They have been speaking to everybody else since their arrival in the UK, apart from the most important people -- the fans," said Mark Longden of the independent Manchester United Supporters Association. "This is a peaceful protest but we intend to get our message heard."
The Glazers also had meetings with United's sponsors. On Tuesday, the Glazers met with the Football Association and Premier League, as well as sports minister Richard Caborn and Manchester United chief executive David Gill and discussed television rights, among other things.
"There's been a lot in the UK press about us in the last 18 months and this has been an invaluable chance to tell the men who run the game what the truth is," Joel Glazer said in a statement on Wednesday.
Malcolm Glazer became majority shareholder of Manchester United on May 16 in a US$1.47 billion takeover -- most of it borrowed money. The billionaire owner of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not travel to England with his sons, whom he appointed to United's board on June 7.
Malcolm Glazer, who has refused to answer questions, will speak for the first time today in a prerecorded interview with Manchester United television.
On Tuesday, Glazer said he controlled 98 percent of United's stock. United has already been taken off the London Stock Exchange, after years as a publicly traded company.
"On the matter of collective selling of our television rights, we have received an unequivocal commitment to continue on the current basis," Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said.
"Since the formation of the Premier League, Manchester United FC has played a key role in shaping its fortunes and I am confident that the club and its new owners are committed to continuing this," he said.
FA chief executive Brian Barwick was also positive after meeting the Glazers, saying it was a "constructive meeting in which the Manchester United officials addressed the many important questions we had to ask them."
Caborn hosted the Glazers in the House of Commons, telling them of United's responsibilities to the professional game, the local community and in enhancing England's status across the world.
"I asked them directly if they thought football was being badly run but they said in their view, the Premier League was the best league in the world," Caborn said.
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