Manchester United season-ticket holders have been left outraged after being told to provide a description of their clothing and photographic ID so they can be identified on CCTV to prove they were at home matches the club claim they did not attend.
Under stricter rules introduced for the 2022-23 Premier League campaign, United fans must have their ticket scanned for at least 10 of the 19 games at Old Trafford, either by attending personally or passing on to another member, or risk being banned from renewing next season.
Those with concessionary seats have to attend in person.
The club sent out an update to all season-ticket holders last month, which confirmed whether or not their ticket had been scanned for the three league games so far.
Sportsmail can reveal several supporters' tickets, which are all digital following a rollout from the club, did not scan for matches against either Brighton, Arsenal or Liverpool - despite them insisting they were at the game themselves.
Those affected have been told their attendance will not count towards the 10-match rule unless they provide information to the club such as what they were wearing on the day, photographic ID and a description of the steward they spoke to.
In the bizarre email, seen by Sportsmail, the ticket holder must give responses to as many as nine demands from United.
'We will only be able to investigate further if you provide us with all of the above information,' the email from the club's ticket office reads.
Sportsmail understands the Manchester United Supporters Trust are aware of the issue and have raised it with the club.
Supporters are also concerned with the rule itself - which was devised in consultation with fan groups to ensure seats at Old Trafford are not wasted - particularly given the tendency from the Premier League and other bodies to reschedule matches at short notice.
United are one of the few clubs in the Premier League that have an attendance requirement in place.
The development will also do little to ease relations between the United fanbase and the club following moths of angry protests against the Glazer family in recent months.
United, however, were praised for how they handled their allocation being cut by 624 for the away game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on police advice.
The club had already distributed the full 2,994 tickets and offered fans who cancelled a guaranteed ticket for one of their next four away games - at Aston Villa, Fulham, Wolves and Arsenal - or a full refund.
The Metropolitan Police initially wanted to give United just 1,500 seats for the match, eventually scheduled for the 5:30pm kick-off slot on October 22, before the club successfully lobbied for an increase to 2,370.
United declined to comment when contacted by Sportsmail.