Fans urged to boycott cup Stuart Brennan MEN May 31st 2005 Manchester United fans have been urged to boycott cup matches next season in a bid to damage Malcolm Glazer's business plan for the club. The 1,800 supporters who attended a public rally at the Apollo Theatre yesterday also heard calls for a snub of Roy Keane's testimonial match in August - unless the Reds skipper makes a donation to the Not For Sale campaign. The cup boycott idea is aimed at supporters who have refused to give up their season tickets and league match ticket books in protest at the takeover, but who still want to hit the American tycoon in the pocket. The proposal will now be discussed by the Not For Sale coalition, which consists of fans groups Shareholders United (SU) and the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association (IMUSA) and the three main United fanzines. The supporter who proposed the cup boycott from the floor of the meeting urged that the home leg of the Champions League qualifying match in August should be the first match to be ditched. Angry United supporters at the rally heard Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd, a lifelong Red, condemn the Football Association's inaction over Glazer's takeover, and vow to press the government to change the law to protect football clubs from predatory businessmen. Said Lloyd: "I put down an early day motion in Parliament a couple of months ago calling on the FA and the Premier League to take action against Glazer and his still uncertain ambitions towards United. "The FA wrote to me to say they had no power to control who buys Manchester United. "What is amazing is that the only regulatory body looking into Glazer's takeover is the National Football League in the United States, who are worried about the effects it might have on his Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise over there. I have since told our own government we have to change the way our football is run." And Lloyd warned supporters of club who have been laughing at the discomfort of United fans that the struggle against Glazer is theirs as well.
Impact "Glazer is not just going to change one club, or just football in this country, but potentially change football around the world. "Any change at Manchester United will have a tremendous impact on every football supporter at virtually every level of the game in this country, and in terms of the way the world game is run." United supporters at the meeting vowed to step up their boycott of club merchandise and of the products of United's sponsors and commercial partners, like Nike, Vodafone, Pepsi, Audi and Fuji. The supporters will launch their own line of merchandise, and say they will step up the pressure on sponsors - even picketing shops and Audi car showrooms. Shareholders United chairman Nick Towle, a corporate lawyer, said: "Nike and Vodafone are already getting nervous and talking about withdrawing. "It won't take long to push Glazer over the edge, because his business plan is already on a knife edge. "We aim to start action groups of people ready and prepared to do things to show sponsors that their products are tainted. "We have also struck a deal with two communications firms to facilitate people wishing to switch from Vodafone to another provider. "And we will develop an alternative brand of merchandise, of the real United, that people can buy into." Towle says SU will also urge the remaining 70,000 private shareholders, who between them own 24 per cent of the club, to keep hold of one share each. "They could be a resistance within the club, attending annual meeting, and taking legal action against Glazer. It only needs 50 shareholders to challenge Glazer's intentions to take the club private in order to force a legal case." The campaigners also reiterated their plan to have a mass of shareholders attend the extraordinary general meeting, which Glazer will have to call in order to take the club private. Andy Walsh of IMUSA, who chaired the meeting, said: "The first time Glazer announces he will have a general meeting to take the club private, make sure you are there. "Sell your shares and stretch him financially as far as possible, but it is worth �3 just to keep one share and go to that meeting." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers. At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide! http://us.click.yahoo.com/B9pRWD/3MnJAA/Y3ZIAA/GtUolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Please use [email protected] for general discussion. To unsubscribe send a blank message (from the email account in question) to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Join as a full member of IMUSA today: http://www.imusa.org/join.htm Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imusa/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
