The mouth-watering prospect of Arsenal taking on Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup has been soured by a controversial decision over the ticket allocation for the match at The Emirates.
Under the FA rules, visiting supporters should receive 15 per cent of a stadium's overall capacity, meaning United could reasonably have expected to take 9,000 tickets from Arsenal's 60,000 seater venue.
However, the Red Devils have only been allocated 5,000 seats for the stand-out tie of the fourth round draw taking place on the evening of Friday 25th January.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) have reacted with disbelief at the hugely diminished ticket allocation for the game at The Emirates and have attacked the decision to reduce the allocation for "safety reasons" (it is apparently because they don't want fans who may stand up to be in the upper tier of the venue).
A statement from MUST read:
For Arsenal to offer little over half the proper allocation is a joke. And to say away fans cannot be in an upper tier, where they are at many league grounds, is ridiculous.
The allure of the FA Cup continues to diminish with each passing season it seems as fans are left short-changed by many club's failure to put out first-choice teams, while the decision to arrange the fourth round tie between Arsenal and Manchester United on a Friday night hardly seems ideal.
United fan face a long trip back up north after the game and plenty of fans have been having their say on social media...
