Manchester United Accuses Newspaper of Complicity in Attack on Executive’s Home

“I know exactly what Ed’s experienced,” Gold said. “I’ve experienced it four or five times myself.”

“In my mind you’ve got a couple of hundred belligerents who want to, metaphorically, burn your house down,” he added. “And those 200 will gather people who are listening, or walking by and wonder what it is all about.”

Recounting his own incident at the game against Burnley, Gold said he had been accompanied by family members, including a young granddaughter.

“My 10-year-old granddaughter said: ‘Grandpa, what do they mean? You’re not a liar, are you grandpa?’” he said. “I mean, what do you say to a 10-year-old?”

The attack on Woodward’s home was not the first time United fans have resorted to direct action. A group of about 40 supporters, including several wearing balaclavas, showed up outside the home of the former United star Wayne Rooney in 2010 to warn him off the idea of joining the club’s crosstown rival Manchester City after talk of a potential transfer emerged during a contractual dispute with the club.

Witnesses, according to news reports at the time, recalled seeing a banner being unfurled that read: “If you join City you’re dead.”

Woodward has been a frequent target for fan fury inside — and sometimes above — United’s Old Trafford stadium. Once, a group paid for a plane to carry a banner calling for him to be fired above a match. But this season, the situation has gotten worse.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/sports/soccer/manchester-united-ed-woodward-premier-league.html?emc=rss&partner=rss