Galatasaray fans ripped a popular Manchester United banner in half from the away end after Tuesday’s 3-2 victory at Old Trafford. And United’s embarrassment leaked into the stands as ‘hundreds’ of rival supporters swarmed around the home section to celebrate the Turkish champions’ historic Champions League win.
The Red Devils’ season went from bad to worse with a sixth defeat in 10 games against Galatasaray, who triumphed on English soil for the first time.
Rasmus Hojlund showed signs of class, but his brace was deemed obsolete by familiar defensive deficiencies punished by goals from Wilfried Zaha, Kerem Akturkoglu and Mauro Icardi.
And United’s night somehow worsened after the full-time whistle as it emerged the club had allowed a large number of Galatasaray fans to buy tickets in the home end.
United fans fumed on social media, posting videos of Turkish supporters celebrating their win as three stands of Old Trafford rapidly emptied.
The club have deservedly been blasted for the disaster, given supporters have previously been banned for as little as sending their tickets to friends and family without using the designated online ticketing system.
One furious fan in United’s ‘The Red Army’ section claimed it felt ‘he was away in Istanbul’, labelling the ordeal ‘absolutely disgusting’.
Supporters have been disbelief as to how so many Galatasaray fans were allowed to invade the home sections in such an important match.
One fan suggested they took advantage of United’s ticketing policy by securing entry at the ticket office in the build-up to the big match.
United allow those who can’t make the game to donate their ticket to the Manchester United Foundation, sell it back to the club for a refund, or donate it to a family or friend if they are a member.
In this case, United were claimed to have received the tickets from fans who donated them to the Foundation before selling them to those rooting for Galatasaray.
And the incident took a darker turn later in the evening when the joyous Galatasaray away end decided to tear down a popular banner from Old Trafford’s Scoreboard End.
