Man United fans release balloons in protest against ownership ahead of Champions League match at Old Trafford

Man United fans release balloons in protest against ownership ahead of Champions League match at Old Trafford originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Manchester United has been a club under fire to begin the 2026/27 season.Sitting 17th in the Premier League and in the bottom third of the Champions League standings as well, it has been a difficult start to the campaign for new permanent manager Michael Carrick.The on-field struggles have seen a return of the supporter discontent that has blighted the club's last few seasons, unrest which had quieted some while the team was performing better through the second half of last campaign under then-interim boss Carrick.Yet with the new struggles, come new protests, as the Glazer family ownership, and the new stewardship under minority owner Jim Ratcliffe, have become targets once again for the supporter base.MORE:Man United majority owners could force Jim Ratcliffe saleWhy did Man United fans release green and gold balloons?Manchester United staged another prominent protest against the club's ownership ahead of their Champions League match against Roma at Old Trafford on Tuesday.Fans in the Stretford End released 4,000 green and gold balloons all at once just before the match began to signal their displeasure with the club's current hierarchy.Green + gold balloons released by fans in Stretford End in protest against Manchester United ownership. #MUFC https://t.co/Km0pUGsXNF— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) November 3, 2026The colors are those worn by Newton Heath, the club that would eventually become Manchester United. Accompanied by a sign that read "For the love not the likes" the protest was meant to signal a desire for United to return to the club's roots instead of the current direction they are headed.MORE:Former Man United boss says Cristiano Ronaldo's career is 'simply over'Why are Man United fans protesting ownership?The Glazer family has been a target of the Man United supporter base for years, as the fans have been frustrated with how the majority owners have conducted themselves ever since acquiring the club in 2005.The methods used to secure the club, and their stewardship since, has come under heavy fire, particularly their use of increasingly sizable debt to finance not only the acquisition but various decisions throughout the years since.The degradation of Man United's on-field performances since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson has brought even more scrutiny on the Glazer ownership, for many reasons including an inability to hire successful managers, unrest in the club's executive structure, and failed transfer policy.Struggles for new minority owner Jim Ratcliffe have put the INEOS chief in the spotlight as well, as Ratcliffe was saddled with the day-to-day football operations since arriving in early 2025.