Man United reinstate season ticket of dementia-suffering fan after it was cancelled for going unscanned for five games – and went viral on social media

Manchester United have reinstated the season ticket of a dementia-suffering fan who saw his ticket cancelled following five games without scanned entry.

The story of the fan in question, who has not been named, went viral on social media on Sunday night, gaining more than one million views.

It was claimed that the fan, who has held a season ticket at Old Trafford for more than 45 years, has a paper season ticket due to not owning a mobile phone and as a result the QR code scanned on entry was printed onto the paper alternative.

Issues have been regular with the ticket and despite multiple exchanges with the club to fix the ticket due to stewards not being able to scan the fan’s QR code – making it appear like he has not attended the fixture – it was claimed after five games without being scanned in the ticket was cancelled.

Mail Sport understands that the club have spoken to the family involved and while they believe the version of events posted on social media does not fully reflect the complicated nature of this fan’s situation, his season ticket has been reinstated.

It is understood that adjustments have been made to ease the fan’s entry to Old Trafford so a repeat situation is avoided.

The story of the fan in question, who hasn’t been named, went viral on social media on Sunday

Significant change was brought about by United this season when it came to ticketing which has seen fans required to access digital tickets via United’s official app.

Tickets are locked to the device they are using and the QR codes that are scanned when entering the ground are hidden until three hours before kick-off.

‘This means you, and more importantly other people won’t be able to access your tickets on another device,’ an email explaining the changes prior to the season read.

In addition, fans have felt the squeeze from another new ticketing rule.

United fans must attend 15 of the 19 home games in the 2024-25 season or risk losing their seat at Old Trafford.

This is up from the number of games needed in 2023-24 for season ticket renewal, which was 14.

Forwarding to an official member, donating the cost of the ticket to the Manchester United Foundation or using the club’s buy-back scheme counts towards the total attendance figure.