Manchester United have reversed a decision to ban two news agencies from sending photographers to Old Trafford.
United had banned Thomson Reuters and Agence France Presse (AFP) following the fans protests against the Glazer family which led to the cancellation of the Premier League fixture with Liverpool earlier this month.
United were unhappy that two photographers representing the agencies had followed fans inside the ground during the protests.
United duly elected to not ban the individual photographers, but to ban both agencies from sending any photographer to cover matches at the ground.
The News Media Coalition (NMC), which campaigns on behalf of the news sector against arbitrary restrictions on newsgathering, publishing and news distribution, said: “These photographs were taken and published because it was a matter of exceptional public interest both nationally and internationally.
“The photographers were doing their job.”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
On Saturday, United declared that they had made a mistake in their handling of the matter.
As such, photographers from both AFP and Thomson Reuters will be able to take their place at Old Trafford for the encounter against Fulham on Tuesday night.
(Image: Action Images via REUTERS)
The NMC said: “This is a good outcome for the two news agencies, the wider news sector, fans, media freedom and common sense.
“We welcome Manchester United ’s move in ultimately recognising the importance of the independent news sector, including in this case the very difficult and even dangerous circumstances in which the two agency photographers found themselves.”
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