Man Utd fan, 76, turfed out of Old Trafford seat his family have had for 77 years

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A Manchester United fan has been left ‘helpless’ after being kicked out of a seat his family has held for 77 years. Tony Riley, 76, is a lifetime Red Devils supporter and travels from the Midlands for each home match.

The seat that he occupies has been held by Riley’s family since 1949. His name is engraved on the seats, with his father-in-law, Laurie Cassidy, having played for the club in the 1940s and 1950s.

Despite his loyalty to United, Riley has seen his seat moved elsewhere in Old Trafford. That decision comes after Sir Jim Ratcliffe launched a plan for new hospitality seats in the Bobby Charlton Stand which cost between £315 and £425 per game.

Around 600 fans have already been relocated, with another 500 supporters expected to follow suit. Speaking about the move, Riley said to The Guardian : “We feel it’s an injustice, not just for us but all the others as well. I just feel really sad about it. I feel helpless and hopeless.”

With the overhaul at Old Trafford, Riley now sits next to a group of supporters he has dubbed ‘the prawn sandwich brigade’. He added: “I now have the pleasure of sitting next to them.

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“I don’t begrudge them [but] they spend more time taking selfies than anything else. They’re not hardcore supporters. It’s going more like American football.”

Riley has now been forced to move away from his son, with seats together having not been guaranteed, a decision that has irritated the pensioner’s daughter Catherine. She has accused United of an “absolute failure … to understand, let alone value, the fans that turn out whatever the weather, the day of the week or the competition to cheer their team on.”

She added: “I know that Premier League football is a business now, perhaps even more than it is a sport. But I am incensed by the treatment of my dad, who is not ‘high net worth’ enough to justify keeping a seat he has earned through a lifetime of supporting a club that is literally part of my family’s history.”

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Ratcliffe, 73, has made a number of unpopular changes at Old Trafford since his arrival. But speaking recently, he has assured the alterations have gone a long way to fixing the club’s financial issues.

"I've seen quite a bit of this at the football club,” the INEOS owner said. “If you do difficult things, which we felt that we had to do at Manchester United... we felt like they were the right things to do. But you do become very unpopular for a while.

"Well, I've been very unpopular at Manchester United because we've made lots of changes. But for the better, in my view. And I think we're beginning to see some evidence in the football club that that's beginning to pay off."