Police charge man for role in Manchester United protests

Game against Liverpool was called off on Sunday as thousands of United fans protested the Glazers’ ownership of the club

A man has been charged for his role in Sunday’s protests against the Glazer family’s ownership of Manchester United.

Thousands of United fans gathered outside Old Trafford – with hundreds invading the pitch – and around the club’s team bus at the Lowry Hotel in Salford.

The protests, which came in the wake of United’s involvement in the collapsed, breakaway Super League, forced Sunday’s Premier League fixture between United and Liverpool to be called off.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) on Tuesday revealed that a man had been charged with “throwing fireworks in a street, use of threatening behaviour and wilful obstruction of the highway” outside the Lowry Hotel.

In a statement, GMP said Michael Anthony James Cusker, 28, had been bailed ahead of a court appearance at Manchester Magistrates Court on 25 May.

The statement continued: “The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct to ensure complete transparency and independence in this investigation.”

GMP, Man United and the Premier League condemned the protests – which led to two police officers being injured, with one requiring emergency treatment.