Manchester United charged by UEFA for pitch invader during Juventus clash but escape punishment for being late
- Pitch invader ran on during Champions League game and was tackled to turf
- Cristiano Ronaldo shook his hand before he was escorted from Old Trafford
- UEFA charged Manchester United for ‘field invasion’ on Wednesday afternoon
- United escaped sanction for kicking off 2 minutes and ten seconds past schedule
Manchester United have been hit with a UEFA charge for the pitch invasion in Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Juventus.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that one man in his forties remained in custody on Wednesday afternoon after being arrested on suspicion of pitch invasion the previous evening.
UEFA charged the club for ‘field invasion’ on Wednesday afternoon. The case will be dealt with by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body on November 22 – the week before they host their final Group H match against Young Boys.
Manchester United have been charged by UEFA for the pitch invader at Old Trafford
Jose Mourinho’s side arrived late to Old Trafford again but were not punished
A United spokesperson said: ‘We will be responding to the UEFA charge and we are reviewing our pitchside security protocols in the light of the pitch incursions at last night’s game.’
A fan ran onto the pitch and sought out Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who shook his hand after the perpetrator had been restrained by stewards.
Another man jumped over the advertising boards in pursuit of Ronaldo after the final whistle on United’s 1-0 Champions League defeat had been blown.
UEFA said the invasions contravened article 16 of their disciplinary regulations.
United were last week fined 15,000 euros (around £13,000) by UEFA for their late arrival and the subsequent delayed kick-off of their Champions League match against Valencia.
Despite moving to a hotel just half-a-mile from the ground, the issues navigating their way through Manchester’s traffic reappeared on Tuesday.
Juventus arrived 65 minutes before kick-off and United got to Old Trafford just 50 minutes before play got under way, while kick-off ended up being two minutes 10 seconds behind schedule on a night when manager Jose Mourinho decided to walk to the ground.
A spokesperson for the Manchester-Salford Inner Relief Route works, which are being jointly carried out by Manchester and Salford City Councils, told Press Association Sport: ‘These major works will significantly improve traffic flow on this busy route once they have finished by increasing capacity at key junctions by up to 20 per cent.
Stewards at Old Trafford ran on to restrain a pitch invader and escorted him off
‘Unfortunately, there is no way to deliver these long-term improvements without some degree of short-time disruption and we recognise that is frustrating.
‘But without these works the road would become more clogged long term and people would end up spending more time stuck in queues.
‘We are doing all we can to complete these works as quickly and safely as realistically possible.
‘In the meantime, we would continue to encourage people to adapt their travel plans wherever possible to avoid or reduce the impact on them.’
