Man Utd criticise Man City over Manchester derby ticket allocation

Manchester United have criticised Manchester City by claiming they consistently reduce the allocation for their travelling supporters.

There was outrage from fans of both clubs when the decision was made to cut the allocation for away fans for both legs of the League Cup semi-final to around 3,000 instead of the 7,200 City should have been given and the 5,500 United were entitled to.

At the time both clubs said the decision stick with the normal Premier League allocation of tickets instead of the 10 per cent stipulated in League Cup rules was a mutual agreement reached due to safety concerns.

However, at a Manchester United Fans' Forum meeting last month the club detailed the specific reasons behind their decision and claimed it was due to being 'unfairly' treated by City in the past with regards to the number of tickets they are given for Etihad games.

A spokesman for the club told the meeting: "We are, unfairly in our opinion, the only team in the Premier League categorised by Manchester City as high risk of disorder, resulting in increased segregation.

"This segregation is, in our opinion, incorrectly taken from the way team allocation."

The club cited the last cup game played at the Etihad in 2011/12 when United were given 1,500 tickets less than they were entitled to and as they predicted this would be the case again the decision was made to come to an agreement between the two sides where both allocations would be reduced.

"In addition to the safety considerations, we wanted to be proactive and ensure parity between the anticipated reduced allocation at the Etihad and what we would be obliged to give at Old Trafford, and agreed the cap was a way of doing this," the spokesman continued.

United's stance over the reduced allocation has come as a surprise to Manchester City who believed a decision had been reached on safety grounds.

A City spokesman told MEN Sport: "This position is contrary to the case put to us by United before Christmas, which was to reduce the allocation at Old Trafford on the grounds of safety and which meant that commensurate action had to be taken for the fixture at the Etihad."

At the same fans' meeting it was also confirmed United have requested permission to install rail seating to a small section of the ground.

A formal proposal has been made to the Safety Advisory Group in December to request a trial section of up to 1,500 seats in the North East Quadrant.

Collette Roche, chief operating officer, explained to the meeting: "Our belief is that the introduction of rail seating will enhance spectator safety in areas of the stadium where – as with other clubs – we have seen examples of persistent standing."

The Safety Advisory Group is reviewing the club's request but it is possible if they agree for it to go ahead that it could be in place before the end of the season.