Man Utd supporters' group cancels planned protest for Premier League opener against Arsenal after survey shows Red Devils fans are split over Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS

The 1958 had planned a protest march to Old Trafford on Sunday ahead of United's game against Arsenal. However, after conducting a survey, the group has concluded opinion is split on the minority ownership of INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the timing of this demonstration is not right.

The protest group tweeted: "After careful reflection, and in light of the survey results. We have made the decision to postpone the planned protest for the Arsenal home game on Saturday, August 17th. For us, it has always been, and will always be, about the fans. About how we’re treated by the club and its owners. About protecting the future of Manchester United, affordable football for all (especially youth), safeguarding fan culture, and ensuring the next generation of supporters inherit a club run with responsibility and respect. These long-term goals matter more to us than signings, glittery training ground refurbs or anything else. That’s where we’ve always stood and we make no apologies for it. With a fanbase as diverse and passionate as ours, finding the right balance isn’t always easy. We’ve had to consider momentum, timing, fan appetite, broader consequences of protest activity whilst assessing how current and future decisions may impact us as fans. Given the current sentiment within the fanbase and particularly in light of these recent survey results, it’s clear there is no unified view on the direction of the club under Ratcliffe. That split is real, and we believe it would be irresponsible to risk creating a situation that could result in any “red on red” conflict inside or outside the stadium."

The group state that they conducted a 26,000-strong survey on United fans and 63 per cent of supporters think Ratcliffe and INEOS can and should be judged on their actions so far. Meanwhile, 68 per cent feel they should be given more time, ranging from Christmas to more than one season, to deliver. This comes hot on the heels of the Red Devils unveiling their redeveloped training ground and signing Benjamin Sesko for £74 million ($100m). The majority owners, the Glazer family, are still deeply unpopular, but for now it seems the minority owners are being given time to prove their worth.

Ratcliffe, who completed his takeover of United around 18 months ago, has not been a popular figure among fans due to enforcing wide-scale redundancies while forking out huge sums on players. He and many others will hope Ruben Amorim's side can ease that pressure by beating Arsenal on Sunday in their Premier League opener.