The co-founder of the Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club (MUMSC) has accused Sir Jim Ratcliffe of potentially alienating supporters from immigrant communities at Old Trafford following his contentious remarks about immigration. Ratcliffe claimed during a Sky News interview that the United Kingdom had been “colonised” by immigrants, prompting swift criticism from prominent public figures and supporter organisations.

Ghulam Haydar, who established MUMSC two years ago and maintains close ties with the club, recently contributed substantially to their winter coats appeal and described himself as “appalled” by Ratcliffe’s remarks, which he characterised as “inflammatory and divisive”. He further argued that the 73-year-old’s declaration failed to represent United’s genuine identity as a club.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, he said: “I just felt it was way off the mark,” and “It was inflammatory, it was divisive and it was just totally uncalled for. It didn’t reflect Manchester United being a global club with a global fan base, people from all different backgrounds who support the club, visit and attend matches.

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“The workforce as well, when you attend a match, you see it’s made up of people from all different backgrounds, of all different shades and persuasions, and it was just really surprising given how the club is.”

During the interview, Ratcliffe addressed immigration, stating: “You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money.

“The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn’t it? I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people.”

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that Britain’s population stood at 67 million in mid-2020 and 70 million in mid-2024. The UK population was estimated at 58.9 million in 2000.

Haydar highlighted that MUMSC had organised an Iftar with the club during last year’s Ramadan and have begun discussions about hosting the event again this season, but revealed these remarks had sparked fury and dismay within the supporters’ club and across various WhatsApp groups.

The comments have also prompted supporters from minority backgrounds to question whether they are genuinely welcome at Old Trafford and now fear backlash following Ratcliffe’s public statements.

“You see comments like this and you hear comments like this and you think, actually who’s he talking about? Is he referring to us? Are we not welcome?” Haydar asked. “The members have really expressed how disappointed they are and some are outraged by it. They just feel unwelcome and marginalised now.

“It deflects the issues that we have in society, the focus goes to minorities and migrants. And therefore, the inadvertent adverse effects of that are that migrants become targets.

“We’d like to think we’re a unified fan base. And I certainly would love to believe that. But people are easily influenced by rhetoric sometimes.

“It might have been unintentional. I don’t know, but he creates a target on the backs of people of colour who will be assumed as migrants. I’m a person of colour. I’m second-generation here. And I’d probably just have to be a little bit more alert than I usually am and expect some form of rhetoric in my direction.

“This is what he needs to realise, that there are real-life consequences for the Manchester United fan base because they might feel unwelcome, but also they might actually feel in danger. We know from statistics that when there are statements by high-profile individuals, it usually correlates with an increased amount of hate crimes.”

Ratcliffe has subsequently apologised if his remarks caused offence, though in a statement he insisted he believed it was necessary to address the matter.

“I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern but it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth,” he said. “My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK.

“My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone. It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK.”

Ratcliffe relied upon figures that were inaccurate during his interview and Haydar said this was portraying migrants in a manner that was simply wrong.

“The irony of it all is that the statistics he used were incorrect and is therefore creating a construct and a narrative that’s incorrect,” he said.

“Migrants play a significant role in our society. They make a net positive contribution through the taxes they pay, creating business opportunities with their entrepreneurial spirit, and fulfilling many different job roles that contribute to society. I myself work within the NHS.”

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