Due to a lack of on-site ambulance service staff, Manchester United has stated that the Carabao Cup match against Burnley will be played in front of a reduced number of fans.
The Championship side will face the Red Devils on December 21, just three days after the World Cup final. United will fancy themselves to win this contest after defeating Aston Villa 4-2 in the previous round of the Carabao Cup.
However, due to the North West Ambulance Service’s strike, the game will now be played in front of a smaller audience. The club claimed that safety officials had urged them to lower Old Trafford’s seating capacity. Around 12,000 people who had purchased tickets for the match will be unable to attend as a result of the upper tier of the Stretford End and North Stand being closed.
Since the game is already sold out, United issued a full refund to thousands of impacted fans in a statement posted on the club’s website on Thursday.
The statement read:
“Due to the unavailability of ambulance service personnel as a result of a day of industrial action affecting the North West Ambulance Service taking place on Wednesday, December 21, the club has been advised by safety authorities to reduce the capacity of our Carabao Cup fixture against Burnley.”
“The club has worked hard to develop a medical plan that will enable us to allow approximately 62,000 fans to be in attendance, but with West Stand tier 2 and North Stand tier 3 required to be closed.”
“Everyone at Manchester United shares the inevitable disappointment caused by this news, particularly those ticket holders who will be impacted. However, the safety of our fans is always our priority.”
