Why Joel Glazer hasn't been attending Manchester United fans' forum amid takeover uncertainty

Joel Glazer has made the decision to stay away from fan engagement due to the legal and regulatory constraints surrounding the takeover of Manchester United, club officials have confirmed.

United supporters have become increasingly frustrated at the radio silence from their American owners, following the announcement in November that they were to 'explore strategic alternatives' for investment. Since that statement, neither Joel nor his brother Avram have had any public contact with fans.

Having attended fan forums in the immediate aftermath of the European Super League fiasco, Joel Glazer insisted he was looking forward to being present as part of a push for increased supporter engagement. But the United owner has been absent ever since. And an explanation has now been offered by United.

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"Joel attended and engaged with this group and the Fans’ Advisory Board until the announcement of the Strategic Review process," Andrew Ward, Director of Media Relations and Public Affairs at United, told a fans' forum this week. "Following the start of that process there are tight legal and regulatory restrictions on what we can say about the strategic review.

"In these circumstances, it would not be appropriate or productive for the owners to participate in these meetings when they are not able to talk about the main issue that fan representatives would naturally wish to question them on. Instead, through Richard, and the club’s Executive Leadership Team, the owners are kept fully informed of the constructive debate and input that is provided during both the