As the world remains ever vigilant trying to protect themselves from terrorism, one team is taking it a step further to protect the club and its fans.
Manchester United is believed to be the first team in the United Kingdom to hire a full-time counter-terrorism officer. The hiring was announced at a recent fan forum, and the PA Sport is reporting that the person filling the position is a former inspector from the specialist search unit at Greater Manchester Police.
This move comes in response to incidents within the past year that have had people around Old Trafford on high alert. They saw their last match of the 2015-16 season postponed due to a fake bomb, and as recently as November, a couple of people from a tour group tried to ditch the group and stay overnight to go to the Arsenal match the next day.
After multiple incidents in Europe and the world at-large, it makes sense that they are beefing up security where they can. They’re seemingly taking it to the next level by hiring a full-time individual to counteract anything that happens at the stadium.
Any car that enters the premises and any fan that enters into the stadium is fully searched. At what point do these types of moves begin to be overreaching and effect the fan experience? Many already complain stateside of the waiting time to get into certain arenas, and MLB’s move to require metal detectors at the gates of every ballpark has been met with scorn.
At the end of the day, safety should be the main priority of the home team and it looks like a prestigious club like Manchester United is willing to take their commitment to the next level.
[ESPN FC]
