A father and son have been left devastated after travelling 300 miles to watch a football match, only to be turned away at the turnstiles. Lifelong fans Michael Mulholland and his 18-year-old son Jack made the 300-mile journey by ferry and coach from Belfast to watch their club's Premier League fixture against Aston Villa on Sunday, April 30.
The pair had been looking forward to the match for months, with the tickets having been bought as part of a package by Micha's wife, reports The Manchester Evening News.
Michael told the newspaper that they arrived at the stadium two hours ahead of kick-off and while he was able to get through the turnstile, when he looked back Jack had become stuck. The family believe Jack successfully scanned his ticket, but did not pass through the turnstile quickly enough, causing it to lock before he could go through.
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Amid claims security staff said they couldn't help, Michael went back through the turnstile and the pair tried to get help from management to get back in. After two hours of trying, the pair claim nobody was able to help them, and they were forced to abandon the game.
Jack's sister Shauna said her father and brother were left devastated. "They booked a package and had travel to Dublin, then get the boat to Wales and then get a coach to Manchester where they stayed the night before," she said.
"My dad and brother got to the ground two hours before and my dad went through the turnstile fine, but my brother wasn't able to get through. The only thing we think could have happened is that he didn't go through quickly enough and it locked. Nobody around them could help. They said there was no other way to let my brother in. My dad wasn’t going to leave him so came out of the turnstile as well. They spoke to several members of staff. One was very nice and got on the radio and told them to issue two new tickets, to which he was told 'no'."
Shauna said her dad and brother spoke to another member of staff who said they could purchase two new tickets for £90, which they were prepared to do, having travelled so far. But when they got to that stand they were told they were sold out.
"They stood for two hours in the rain to try and get into the match they had paid for," Shauna said. "They had to head back to the hotel and go back home with everyone else. My brother is 18 and this was only the second game he’d been to. My dad is 53 and had only been a handful of times. It was booked as a Christmas present for both of them and they had been really looking forward to it. They are lifelong Manchester United fans. The whole package cost £550 and they had to buy membership to be able to go to the game. Despite showing their tickets, membership and photo ID at the game - nobody would let them in."
The family don't believe there was any issue with the ticket as Michael, whose ticket was part of the same package as his son's, was able to enter the stadium.
Shauna says she's written to Manchester United to get answers. "They have been looking forward to this game since Christmas. I just want Manchester United to acknowledge what happened and just apologise. A refund for the tickets would also be appreciated since they didn’t get to watch the game."
The MEN says it has attempted to contact Manchester United but has not received a comment.
