An employee of Manchester United Football Club (MUFC) and University of Manchester student was fired after wearing a green and gold scarf last Wednesday night.
The scarf is a protest against the current owners of Manchester United, the Glazer family. Many fans wear the colours of Newton Heath, the club’s former incarnation, as an act of dissent against the Glazers. The movement has grown in recent months as Manchester United fans have seen their formerly debt-free club plunged into £700m pounds worth of debt.
Jerry Vyse, a first year Anthropology student, worked in one of the many food and drink kiosks at Old Trafford. He purchased a green and gold scarf before the game against AC Milan on Wednesday night. Vyse said: “I bought the scarf for five pounds off one of the countless sellers stocking them around the outside of the stadium. I told him I would be wearing it to work at Old Trafford for my shift selling pies and Bovril for that evening’s game against AC Milan. He wished me the best of luck, but warned me that some staff were sacked on the spot for doing that.
“I put it on at half-time as the floods of people poured out to stock themselves up with fluids and solids. The fans started to cheer in solidarity.
“Hearing the commotion, the supervisor came round and ordered me to remove it. This was met with jeers from the united supporters, most of whom had the scarf on themselves.”
Vyse continued: “When I refused, the supporters cheered, before shouting comments at the supervisor to let me get on with my job because the scarf does not effect my ability to work a till. He was then booed when he put the queue on hold to enter the kiosk and request I leave with him because my scarf was ‘anti-Glazer’.
“I turned to the supervisor and asked him why I could not continue doing my job. He said it was not because I was wearing a scarf, because if it had been a different colour he would not have minded. MUFC will no doubt state that the decision was based on uniform policy – what he told me surely refutes that. He said it was because it was ‘anti-Glazer’. Does it not sniff a little bit like a dictatorship if not even the smallest of dissents can be made about an incredibly rich man who has more or less taken over the club?
Vyse alleges that public catering manager, David Moses, attempted to intimidate him into removing the scarf. Vyse said, “He told me to ‘take that smug grin off your face or I’m going to get very angry’. He then marched me to the Head Office of Catering.”
“He asked me, furiously, ‘Who pays your wages? Is it not Glazer?’ I answered ‘No, it’s the fans. Without them this club would not exist’. I then asked him the question: ‘Who pays Glazers wages then. Is it not the fans?’”
Student Direct contacted David Moses for further comment. When asked if Vyse was fired because of his green and gold scarf, Moses said, “Not at all. I’ve got no further comment”, and hung up the phone.
A spokesperson from the club said: “There is a strict uniform policy and he refused to abide by it and was therefore asked to leave.”
David Beckham last week caused both controversy and smiles on the faces of many Manchester United fans after their game with AC Milan when he donned a similar gold and green scarf that had been thrown onto the Old Trafford pitch.
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