Manchester United fan thrown off MUTV for wearing green-and-gold scarf
Manchester United have been accused of behaving like a communist dictatorship after barring a fan wearing a green-and-gold scarf from appearing on the club' s in-house television station.
Lifelong supporter Steve Tilzey was thrown off the show Red Cafe on MUTV when he refused to take off the scarf, a symbol of the protests against the Glazer family's ownership.
He said: 'This is censorship. It's symbolic of what is happening at the club and it is bang out of order. It's like being told to leave by the secret police or the Stasi. But this isn't Tianaman Square, it's a peaceful protest.'
Former United players answer questions from supporters on the programme and Tilzey is often a member of the audience.
He added: 'I have been going on it regularly for about 18 months. About 20 minutes into the programme during an advertising break, suddenly I got a tap on my shoulder and there were two or three security guards saying: "You have to take that off or leave." I said: "I will never take the scarf off but I am prepared to leave."
'I don't blame the producer or the floor manager. They got a call and they were told to get me off. Another man was wearing a green-and-gold scarf but he chose to take his off. He must have felt intimidated.
'I went to the bar and people, the crew, the security guards, were coming up to me and saying: "That is so, so wrong".
"I don't wear it to wind people up. I wear it because it's my club. I have been wearing it for the last five or six weeks. I wore it at work and in town and I didn't even think about it when I went to the show with it on. I wore it on the Red Cafe about three weeks ago and no one said a thing. This is the first time the club has gone into press censorship. It's not acceptable.'
And Tilzey said the club's heavy-handed treatment was needless – because he wasn't using the show to ask awkward questions.
He added: 'I had put my name down to ask a question. I wanted to ask Lee Martin, one of the ex-players, about the 1991 European campaign. It wasn't a political statement.'
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