Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been accused of ‘making’ Old Trafford staff ‘quit’ as a result of his poor ‘treatment’ of certain workers.
At the start of this year, the INEOS chief completed his takeover of Man Utd, purchasing a 27.7% stake in the Premier League giants.
As part of this deal, Ratcliffe – who has ‘injected’ more funds to increase his stake – took control of footballing matters at Old Trafford from the Glazer family and he’s already made wholesale changes.
Ratcliffe‘s overhaul of United’s recruitment model has not gone entirely to plan as former sporting director Dan Ashworth recently announced his exit after just five months in the role.
The British billionaire has also sanctioned a brutal cost-cutting programme, which has seen him quickly become an unpopular figure at Old Trafford.
Some measures have been harsher than others, but he’s received backlash for hiking ticket prices, forcing mass redundancies, scrapping bonuses and taking away Sir Alex Ferguson’s global ambassador role.
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Man Utd are currently six points adrift of the Champions League places and head coach Ruben Amorim has a ‘tight budget’, so more cuts should be expected in the coming months.
The i’s Sam Cunningham has interviewed former Manchester United steward Frank Robinson, who has revealed an eye-opening insight into how Ratcliffe has treated staff since arriving at Old Trafford.
Robinson worked as a steward at Man Utd for 24 years, but he claims Ratcliffe’s ‘treatment made him quit’ and the report reveals INEOS have ‘cut steward bonuses’.
‘The i Paper can reveal that stewards employed by the club – some of the lowest paid members of staff – have seen bonuses scrapped this season.
‘Stewards used to be given £100 for every 10 matches worked but will no longer receive it.
‘A steward of the week is also awarded and had been given a £50 bonus, but the cash prize has been cut.’
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In the interview, Robinson hit out at Ratcliffe and INEOS’ “pettiness” as they are “pinching off people at the bottom of the ladder”.
“A lot of stewards are leaving since Ratcliffe came in,” Robinson said.
“Up until last year they used to get an attendance bonus. Every 10 matches we did, we got a £100 bonus. Now they said you’re not having that. So they stopped that completely.
“For many years you’d have a steward of the week, someone nominated or fans wrote in and said how well this steward had done. You got £50 for that. Now they still have steward of the week, but they have no award.
“It’s very petty for a football club. You’re pinching off people at the bottom of the ladder.”
The 67-year-old continued: “Supervisors and stewards who’ve been at United for years are packing it in.
“Some stewards in their 70s, they’re putting them into the top tier of the North Stand because they know they won’t like it and they’ll leave. They can bring more agency staff in. They’re trying to force them out.
“They are getting rid of stewards and replacing them with untrained, unqualified agency staff. There’s no overheads with agency staff, no training, no uniforms, nobody having to work wages and holiday out.”
