Manchester United to hand out £6m in refunds if home games aren't completed
Manchester United will pay season ticket holders £6 million in refunds if they are unable to host their final four Premier League games, say reports.
Football has ground to a halt across Europe amid the coronavirus pandemic and it remains a mystery when it will be possible to resume competitive action.
According to the Sun, United have begun talks with the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) about how to reimburse fans if the remaining home games can’t be staged, or are played behind closed doors.
There are around 50,000 season ticket holders at Old Trafford who pay £1.5m per game collectively, so the refunds would total £6m for the four games.
A spokesman for the Premier League giants said: “In light of the disruption caused by coronavirus, the club is reviewing dates, policies and procedures around season ticket renewals for next season, along with the administrative processes should games that are currently postponed, be either cancelled or played behind closed doors. We are consulting with MUST as part of that review.
“We look forward to the resumption of football when we are advised it is safe and appropriate. In the meantime our priority remains the health of fans, players, staff, and our wider communities.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by COVID-19, as well as those fighting in the front line against this virus on behalf of all of us, and we urge all our fans to continue following Government advice.”
MUST also confirmed the talks in a statement which read: "We are in discussion with Manchester United regarding season ticket renewals and related issues arising from the coronavirus pandemic.”
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were fifth in the league standings when football was suspended, three points behind Chelsea in fourth.
Their four remaining home games were due to be against Sheffield United, Bournemouth, Southampton and West Ham.
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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.