Manchester United Muslim supporters’ club urges co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to resign

Manchester United’s Muslim Supporters’ Club (MUMSC) called on co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to step down on 19 September 2026 after he told BBC News’s Big Boss Interview that the UK was ‘‘on the slide’’ from the days when it had ‘‘the greatest empire in the world’’. The supporters’ group described his remarks as ‘‘completely unacceptable’’ and published a ‘‘statement of no confidence’’ on X demanding change in the club’s ownership.

MUMSC’s statement said: ‘‘Our players, staff, stewards, security teams and supporters come from different countries, cultures, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds. Manchester United would not be Manchester United without them. Manchester United does not belong emotionally to investment funds, shareholders or billionaires.’’ The group added: ‘‘After years of decline, broken promises and repeated failure, Manchester United Muslim Supporters’ Club has lost confidence in the current ownership structure of Manchester United Football Club. Enough is enough. It is time for change. The Glazers [co-owners] and Sir Jim Ratcliffe must go.’’

In the BBC interview Ratcliffe said Britain was in decline and spoke of its past global standing, stating: ‘‘We had the greatest empire in the world. We were a great people. We won two world wars. We’re good, honest folk. But unfortunately, at the moment, I think the UK is on the slide. It’s quite difficult to see how we arrest it.’’ He also placed immigration and benefits at the centre of his explanation for Britain’s problems, remarks MUMSC described as ‘‘deeply disappointing and completely unacceptable.’’

Ratcliffe, founder of Ineos who has lived in Monaco since 2020, said in the interview that the UK had ‘‘a bit of a green eye towards wealth at the moment’’, and argued that the country was ‘‘encouraging’’ wealthy people to leave. He told the podcast: ‘‘In America, they applaud people who create wealth. And the good thing about those people who create wealth is that they then spend that wealth in the economy in which they’re resident. And, unfortunately, with the things that they’ve been doing, they’ve been encouraging the people who have created wealth to leave the UK because it’s just become uncomfortable for them for tax reasons or whatever.’’

The article noted his comments follow an earlier Sky News interview seven months ago in which he said the country was being ‘‘colonised by immigrants’’. He later said he was ‘‘sorry if those remarks had offended some people’’, and MUMSC said it had challenged those earlier comments this year, adding: ‘‘We hoped a lesson had been learned. Clearly, it has not.’’

The piece reported that while the UK’s tax burden has risen to its highest level since the second world war at about 35.3% of GDP, the Office for Budget Responsibility says it remains well below the average of 14 western European economies. Ratcliffe’s tenure at United has been contentious among supporters after a summer ticket‑touting crackdown that revoked 685 season tickets and prompted protests from groups including the 1958, and following his decisions to increase ticket prices and sack 450 club employees.

Ratcliffe also criticised the government’s decision not to approve further North Sea licences for the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields, calling that approach ‘‘insanity’’ and warning of supply risks, saying: ‘‘The risk you’ve got this winter is that we run out of gas. If we have a really sharp cold spell, then there is conceivably the possibility that we’ll run out of gas and have to switch the industry off.’’ A government spokesperson told the BBC the administration was ‘‘working to deliver growth’’ and said business investment had increased in the last two years, adding: ‘‘We have a diverse energy mix and are confident in our security of supply.’’

Asked whether he planned to return to the UK, Ratcliffe said: ‘‘Not at the moment, no. I don’t see growth being tackled.’’ He added: ‘‘Two things: we need politicians who are tough enough to deal with some very difficult problems, and we know what the problems are. And we need politicians who will make decisions which are good for the country, not good for themselves and their party. And we haven’t had one of those for a long time.’’