'Absolutely ridiculous!' - Manchester United Women fans issue strong complaint after being warned about anti-Marc Skinner chants during friendly clash with PSV

The Red Devils came from behind to labour to a 2-1 victory over PSV in a friendly in Malta on Friday, but that result wasn't enough to appease a fanbase who have endured a tough campaign so far. According to The Athletic, disgruntled United supporters began chanting "We want Skinner out" in the first half, before a club security guard intervened at the break to tell fans to stop. The move was reportedly done in an attempt to de-escalate tensions between fans, players and staff, but it has naturally been met with staunch opposition.

An email sent to the Manchester United Women's Supporters' Club on Saturday, as relayed in The Athletic's report, read: "Over the past year and a lot more recently we have become despondent in the way the team is playing, recent results, the tactics, the rumours of player unhappiness. Last night, several [supporters] sang 'We want Skinner out' only for a club representative to come and speak to Natalie at half time and tell her that we are not allowed to sing it because it’s upsetting the players. That is absolutely ridiculous. The words used are not offensive. It is our opinion of the manager. For a club representative to come and pick her out to tell her that we can’t sing certain chants was totally incorrect. We have paid our hard-earned money to travel and watch the team and if we are not happy with the manager we should be able to do so.”

The report notes that none of United's players were affected by a chant that is generally commonplace in the game when a manager is under pressure. One fan even noted that the squad were "clapping us at the end and smiling". Skinner's side sit seven points adrift at the top of the WSL, four points outside of the European places. Fans have been plagued by off-pitch uncertainties, too, such as potentially losing Lionesses shot stopper Mary Earps after her contract expires in the summer.

According to the same report, United say they are satisfied with the actions of their employee but claim fans were not specifically instructed to stop their anti-Skinner chants. The club insist that they respect supporters' rights to express strong opinions.