Manchester United are facing a repairs bill running into thousands of pounds because of alleged misbehaviour by supporters that has had a knock-on effect for the security arrangements surrounding their FA Cup tie at Shrewsbury Town next Monday.
The Premier League club will be asked to compensate Derby County after a significant number of seats were damaged in the away end when the two teams met in the FA Cup fourth round, resulting in a 3-1 win for Louis van Gaal’s team.
Derby have already informed United about what their ground staff found on the morning after the match and intend to charge the Old Trafford club for the relevant repairs, alleging that more than 300 seats were broken or in some cases pulled off whole.
That, in turn, is one of the principal reasons why Shrewsbury have abandoned plans to increase the 9,875 capacity at New Meadow with temporary seating when they host United for a place in the quarter-finals.
Shrewsbury had initially contemplated putting up two extra areas of seating as they did when they played Chelsea in the Capital One Cup last season, meaning another 500 fans could get in.
However, the League One club have been in touch with Derby and have also been informed there were incidents of ticketless fans trying to storm the gates when United played at Cambridge in last season’s competition.
After talks between the relevant authorities, Shrewsbury have decided against the extra seating plan because of the additional security risk and high policing costs.
“Each fixture is looked at on a case-by-case basis and all circumstances are taken into consideration,” Chief Inspector James Baker, event tactical commander for West Mercia police, said. “We have an excellent relationship with the football club and, having jointly discussed the options, we support the club’s decision not to provide additional temporary seating.”
United have been allocated 1,500 tickets, despite receiving more than 9,000 applications, and the front two rows of seats will be cordoned off with netting.
(Guardian service)
