Manchester United fans unveiled a pro-immigration banner during Sunday’s fixture against Crystal Palace in response to comments from minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The banner was displayed by supporters in the corner over the tunnel at Old Trafford before the second half of the Premier League match kicked off. It read: “MUFC proudly colonised by immigrants” and pictured seven international players who have represented the club: France’s Eric Cantona and Patrice Evra, Park Ji-sung of South Korea, Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes, Norway’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Amad of the Ivory Coast and Brazil’s Casemiro.
In February, Ratcliffe said in an interview with Sky he believed the United Kingdom has been “colonised by immigrants”.
Ratcliffe, a British billionaire who has resided in tax haven Monaco since 2020, made multiple inflammatory and inaccurate observations about the United Kingdom’s immigrant population. The remarks were widely condemned by sections of the United fanbase and politicians — including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who described the comments as “offensive and wrong”.
“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” Ratcliffe, 73, told Sky. “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 UK’s Office for National Statistics estimated that the UK population was 69.5 million in November 2025, compared to 67.1 million in 2020. The ONS also estimated that the UK’s long-term net migration was 204,000 from 2024 to 2025.
According to a House of Commons research briefing from January of this year there were 1.68 million people, as of December 2025, claiming unemployment-related benefits in the UK.
Following the backlash, Ratcliffe went on to say he was “sorry that my choice of language has offended some people” but stopped short of a full apology and stood by the spirit of his comments.
“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,” his statement released the day after the interview aired read.
“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’s petrochemicals company INEOS officially took a minority stake in United in February 2024 and have overseen the club’s sporting operations, implementing a raft of changes.