Man Utd 'could slash budget for disabled fans' as INEOS get brutal with cost-cutting

Manchester United could reportedly slash the budget they hand to their disabled supporters’ association by half as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting mission at Old Trafford.

The INEOS chief has overseen a range of money-saving initiatives since purchasing a minority stake in United last year. He has made it a priority to scale back unnecessary expenses in his quest to lead the club back to former glories.

United axed 250 members of staff earlier this year, while certain staff privileges have been reduced or banned altogether. Access to private cars for the majority of staff members has been withdrawn among other cost-cutting initiatives.

Now, the Red Devils could be about to slash their budget for disabled supporters in a move which could prove highly controversial, according to the Daily Mail.

The report states the £40,000 given to MUDSA each year has been identified as an area where further savings could be made. As a result, United chiefs are said to be ‘reluctantly considering’ reducing the annual payment.

MUDSA is one of the oldest disabled supporters’ associations in the country, with funds donated by the club going towards a variety of areas. Some of the money is spent on subsidising tickets to annual events such as the hugely popular Christmas party.

Other events include an annual dinner held at Old Trafford and a bowling day where medals are handed out to children who take part.

Any reduction in the annual payments made to MUDSA would likely provoke a hostile response from supporters, given that United announced record revenues of over £661million earlier this year.

At the time, United chief executive Omar Berrada said: “We are working towards greater financial sustainability and making changes to our operations to make them more efficient, to ensure we are directing our resources to enhancing on-pitch performance.

“[The results reflect] a partial-year impact of the transformative cost-savings and organisational changes that we have been busy implementing over the summer.”

United’s cost-cutting mission has also seen Sir Alex Ferguson relieved of his ambassadorial duties in another controversial move. The legendary Scot was recently told that he would stop receiving his multi-million-pound salary at the end of the season.

Ferguson was said to have been informed of the changes in a face-to-face meeting with the United co-owner, though he is expected to remain a non-executive director.