Mob attacks home of Man Utd chief Ed Woodward and chant he was ‘going to die’

The Cheshire home of Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has been attacked by a mob who chanted that he was “going to die”.

BBC Sport reports that Woodward, who is married with two young children, was not at home when the thugs gathered outside his house last night.

The broadcaster says that Woodward has been the subject of “growing supporter discontent at United in recent weeks” and The Sun alleges that the hooded men were “members of United’s notorious ‘Men In Black’ hooligan firm”.

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Flare thrown

Shortly after the incident, a video was uploaded onto social media of a man hurling a red flare over the gates of Woodward’s driveway, while others sang and chanted.

United issued a statement in response to the video, which said: “Fans expressing opinion is one thing, criminal damage and intent to endanger life is another. There is simply no excuse for this.

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“We know that the football world will unite behind us as we work with Greater Manchester Police to identify the perpetrators of this unwarranted attack.”

As the BBC points out, it’s not the first time that members of the United board have been targeted in this way.

In 2004 the house of then club director Maurice Watkins was visited by so-called supporters who threw red paint over his two cars to protest at his decision to sell his stake in United.

Sending a message

The Sun quotes someone involved in the incident last night, saying: “Woodward has been a disaster as chief executive and needs to leave the club.

“Lots of people have said it but he doesn’t seem to listen - perhaps because he’s getting paid £4m-a-year. So we decided to pay him a visit to tell him to his face.

“We didn’t get to speak to him but hopefully he’ll get the message because we’re not going away and we won’t stand around doing nothing while our club is ruined.”

Today’s back pages

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