Manchester United supporters slam Feyenoord after receiving a heavily reduced ticket allocation for their upcoming Europa League clash
* Manchester United face Feyenoord in Europa League opener next week
* United announced on Tuesday that they were allocated just 1,400 tickets
* Feyenoord halved the stadium capacity as they try to avoid crowd trouble
Manchester United supporters have criticised their heavily reduced allocation at Feyenoord next week, claiming they are being unfairly punished for unruly home fans.
United announced on Tuesday that only 1,400 fans would follow Jose Mourinho to Holland for his first Europa League game in charge, more than a thousand fewer than expected.
Feyenoord have voluntarily halved the capacity at De Kuip in Rotterdam, which normally houses 51,000, as they look to avoid sanctions for crowd trouble.
Manchester United supporters have criticised their heavily reduced allocation at Feyenoord. United only received an allocation of 1,400 tickets for the clash with the Dutch giants
The Dutch club were handed a two-year suspended sentence comprising of a £42,000 fine and playing a European game behind closed doors after ugly scenes during a fixture against Roma in February.
Their Europa League last 32 second leg was twice temporarily suspended by referee Clement Turpin after objects were hurled at the pitch.
It is also alleged an inflatable banana was thrown at Roma’s Ivory Coast international Gervinho from the home section, something UEFA slapped Feyenoord with a three-year suspended punishment for.
Their travelling fans had gone on a rampage in Rome the week before, damaging a 500-year-old fountain which experts said could not be repaired.
It means Feyenoord want to take extra measures to safeguard against any repeats and are adamant that the steps are ‘absolutely necessary’.
United argued their case to UEFA in a bid to take their full allocation next Thursday, something rejected on police advice.
A Manchester United Supporters’ Trust statement to Sportsmail read: ‘M.U.S.T and our travelling support are really disappointed about the reduced allocation for United supporters.
‘We don't see why our fans should be affected by the Police concerns over home fans' behaviour and choosing to reduce their capacity for the match.
‘We are glad United took this issue seriously and lobbied on our behalf, and M.U.S.T has also written to Dutch authorities seeking more answers, but sadly the short time frame between the draw and the match means we cannot change the outcome this time.
‘We have also made the point that reducing the away allocation for such an easily accessible game may prove counter-productive and potentially increase security risk if ticketless MUFC fans are in the vicinity of the stadium attempting to get tickets.’
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