Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster has written to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in support of Manchester United fans who are fighting the club’s current ticketing policy.

And FSF Chairman Malcolm Clark has also backed fans who are demanding Manchester United drop their automatic cup ticket scheme.

Many United season ticket holders are at present forced to agree in advance to purchasing tickets for certain cup games before they know how much the tickets will cost and who the opposition will be.

MP Don Foster, the Liberal Democrats' Culture, Media and Sport spokesman says the scheme is “outrageous”, and has written to the Office of Fair Trading, who the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST) last week lodged official papers with.

MUST claim Manchester United have 'breached statutory and legal obligations to season-ticket holders' – but a decision on whether United have a case to answer is yet to be taken.

“This effectively amounts to the club demanding a blank cheque from the consumer,” Foster said, in his letter to the OFT. “It should not be swept under the carpet.”

An all-party meeting of MPs will discuss the matter at Westminster on December 10, and Football Supporters' Federation chair, Malcolm Clarke, said: “The FSF is fully supportive of the action being taken by MUST to respond to such unfair practices. If this action is successful it could have positive benefits for supporters at many clubs.”