Manchester United fans force closure of Old Trafford shop with anti-Glazer protest

Manchester United briefly closed the megastore at Old Trafford on Tuesday morning due to an anti-Glazer protest.

A group of around 100 fans began to gather outside the megastore at 9:45am in a planned protest to disrupt United's launch of their new home kit. By blocking the entrance to the store protestors aimed to make it difficult for the new jersey to be sold and to send a message to the club's owners, the Glazer family.

Several supporters gathered outside the doors to the store chanting anti-Glazer songs, lighting smoke bombs and holding banners which read: "Glazers Out," "Don't Feed the Greed," and "Full Sale Only."

The store opened as normal at 10am but a short while later closed for around 30 minutes before reopening its doors prior to 11am. The protest was organised by fan group the 1958 who outlined their three-day protest plan on Twitter, which also includes protesting directly to kit manufacturers Adidas.

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"This is not about transfers, new kits or who the next owners will be," the group tweeted ahead of the protest. "It's about removing this ownership, thats always been the focus. We look forward to the day we can support new kit launches but that time is not now."

The group, as well as United fans at large, are desperate for the Glazers to sell the club after nearly two decades of ownership following the family's leveraged buyout in 2005. It was announced in November they were looking for further investment opportunities in United which included the possibility of selling the club entirely.

Two contenders have emerged in a process which has frustrated fans with how long it is taking. INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe is wanting to purchase 60 per cent of the club