Manchester United: Two fans who slept in Old Trafford overnight before Arsenal match release video of escapade

The pair of friends attempted a similar stunt at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium earlier this month, only to be detected

Ahmadi inside the Old Trafford toilet cubicle (YouTube)

Two football fans who stayed in Old Trafford overnight in order to watch Manchester United’s clash against Arsenal have released a video of their escapade.

The friends snuck away from an official tour of the stadium on Friday afternoon and concealed themselves in a toilet cubicle until the following day’s 12.30pm kick-off.

At one point during their overnight stay, somebody knocks on the cubicle door and kneels down on the floor to see whether anyone is in there, only to later walk away.

The pair are then seen to emerge from the toilets the next morning and go out into the stadium, managing to watch at least part of Saturday’s 1-1 draw from the Stretford End.

The two friends are then collared by security staff and detained. A caption on the near 20-minute-long YouTube video reads: “We were interrogated and searched 2 more times, we gave all of our details.

“They completed all of the necessary background checks to ensure we didn’t pose a threat. We were then asked to explain how we managed to do it to ensure it doesn’t happen again!

“We were already searched when we came into the stadium, and as we didn’t pose a threat they released us!”

The two friends attempted a similar stunt at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium before the north London derby earlier this month, only to be caught by security.

“So after attempting to stay overnight in Arsenal football stadium and failing many of you asked us to attempt to sleep over in Old Trafford,” reads the latest video’s description on YouTube.

“Against all odds with one of the best security in the world we decided to give it a go and see if we could last till morning to see Manchester united [sic] vs Arsenal!”

The security breach will cause significant embarrassment for United, coming just six months after Old Trafford was evacuated due to a bomb scare.

The ‘bomb’ transpired to be a training device left behind by a security firm during a training procedure earlier that week, prior to the final game of the season against Bournemouth.

Last week, Bournemouth’s supporters’ trust, The Cherries Trust, revealed that none of Greater Manchester Police, Trafford Council, Sports Ground Safety Authority or Manchester United Football Club had recorded a formal meeting to investigate how the safety breach was allowed to happen.

Cherries Trust chairman, Tony Maycock, said: “This is first and foremost about ensuring the safety of fans at a football ground. Manchester United failed to ensure that their venue was safe for the thousands of fans who travelled to Old Trafford in May.

“Six months later, they appear to have shown no effort to make sure this won’t happen again.”