Grimsby cancels home section Man United tickets

About 9,000 fans are expected to attend the second round Carabao Cup game

Grimsby Town FC has cancelled an undisclosed number of tickets in the home section of its stadium after it was found they had been bought by Manchester United supporters.

The Mariners are expecting about 9,000 fans at Blundell Park later for the Carabao Cup second round game against the competition's six-time winners after tickets sold out within days.

In a statement, the club said the action had been taken in line with English Football League regulations to protect the safety of all supporters.

The cancelled tickets would be resold to home fans on the waiting list, it added.

"As with all fixtures at Blundell Park, any supporters wearing opponent apparel will not be admitted into the home end," a spokesperson said.

"We thank Mariners fans for their understanding and co-operation as we continue to make supporter safety our top priority."

Grimsby fans - inspired by club mascot the Mighty Mariner - are being urged to "bring the noise"

Alex Green, who hosts the DN35 Podcast – the unofficial podcast of Grimsby Town - praised the club's efforts.

"It's to be expected in games like this, but the fact the club have dealt with it and communicated it clearly is fantastic," he said.

"If there is a Man United fan in there, I hope they spend a hell of a lot of money and I'm really sorry they are going to have a miserable time when they get knocked out of the cup."

Talking about the game, he said it was good opportunity to "put the profile of the club out there".

"If we get through that's fantastic - the story goes on - but if we can put some money in the account that we haven't budgeted for - the more the better," he said.

'Perplexed'

Fans on social media also welcomed the move.

One person wrote: "Perplexed how this could happen when town fans couldn't get hold of tickets, but congrats to town for detecting and responding."

Meanwhile, the club is encouraging fans to "bring the noise" and turn Blundell Park "black and white" for the fixture.

Wayne Brightmore, chair of the Mariners Trust, said: "When the players walk out and see a sea of black and white and Harry Haddocks [the club's inflatable fish symbol] – it really does lift the atmosphere and spur them on."

The game kicks off at 20:00 BST.

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