Manchester United have got their 2025/26 Premier League campaign underway as the Red Devils hosted Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Unfortunately it didn’t go to plan for Ruben Amorim and their team, as Arsenal took the three points back to London thanks to Riccardo Calafiori converting a Declan Rice corner.
The goal came in the 13th minute of the game, and unfortunately, United couldn’t fight back to rescue a point, putting them in 14th in the Premier League table after one game.
Whilst the Red Devils fought strongly for the rest of the game, sadly, a large number of fans missed the opening minutes of the fixture.
Under INEOS’ leadership, United decided to make changes at Old Trafford for this season, not just with ticket prices, but with how the tickets work.
The club have opted to use NFC (near-field communication) for home tickets, like using cards or phones for contactless payments.
However, The Daily Mail has reported that the change caused queues of thousands of fans stuck trying to get into the ground, with hundreds missing kick-off.
It’s understood that 400 fans reported a problem to the ticket office, having missed a large proportion of the game, an issue which has been escalated within the club.
The Daily Mail continued to report that sources are insisting they are learning from the issue and that the club are looking to make the process significantly smoother for future games.
This system is one that United have been keen to implement before, looking to use it in last season’s Europa League second leg against Athletic Club.
With The Red Devils noting that at their Premier League opener against Arsenal, 92% of the fans made it in before the game got started, so whilst a considerable number missed kick-off, it’s seemingly not being seen as an issue affecting the majority of fans.
