Manchester United Supporters Trust raise questions over ‘sporting integrity’ amid bids for the club

Concerns have been raised over ‘sporting integrity and LGBTQ+ rights’ after the first bids to buy Manchester United were submitted. 

The club’s American owners, the Glazer family, set a 10pm deadline for bids to be lodged on Friday night to buy the club, with both Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani putting in offers.

It is expected that the owners will not budge from their £6 billion asking price for the club.

The Qatari offer has aroused some worries among fans. Al Thani is the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), which names the Qatari Investment Authority (QIA), as its biggest shareholder.

Given that the QIA also owns Qatar Sports Authority (QSA), which in turn owns fellow European club Paris Saint-Germain, some fan organisations have questioned the bid.

Qatar has lodged its bid for Man United, promising to restore ‘glories on and off the pitch’

The Glazer owners are not expected to budge from their current £6 billion valuation of the club 

A statement regarding the recent bids released by the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) said: ‘There are questions about sporting integrity given the exceptionally close links between some bidders and the owners of other European clubs including PSG and Nice.

‘There are also questions about whether any bids will also be based on high levels of debt.’

‘We urge all bidders to open a dialogue with fans groups alongside the bidding process with the club, in order to discuss their proposals including the above issues.’

MUST also made it clear that any perspective owner should ‘respect the rights of all people, particularly women and the LGBTQ+ community. Concerns have been raised by other fans groups which we fully support.’

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also submitted an offer to buy the club

Alongside the treatment of migrant workers, LGBTQ+ rights were a dominant issue in last year’s World Cup in Qatar, a country which criminalises same-sex relationships.

The last point from MUST focused on supporting United on the pitch, as they added: ‘Everyone can see the progress the team is making under Erik Ten Hag. 

‘After the frustrations of the last decade, it is clear that enormous strides are being taken. Any prospective bidder needs to explicitly commit to backing Erik and his plans to restore United to glory.’

Ten Hag’s side are currently leading Leicester 3-0 in their Premier League clash after two goals from Marcus Rashford and one from Jaden Sancho.