The Premier League has reminded Manchester United of its kit regulations after the club were found to have failed to display the required badges during their defeat at Hull City.
United’s players took to the pitch for their first match of the new season with one sleeve blank, prompting questions from supporters watching at the MKM Stadium.
The issue stems from the end of United’s shirt-sleeve agreement with DXC Technology, which had been worth around £20million per year and had run since 2022.
With no new commercial partner in place, United were not permitted simply to leave space on both sleeves.
Under Premier League rules, clubs without a sleeve sponsor must carry the division’s official branding on each arm.
Instead, United appeared to wear the badge on just one sleeve against Hull.
According to the Daily Mail, the matter has been dealt with by way of a polite reminder rather than any formal punishment.
The Premier League has reminded Manchester United of its kit regulations after the club were found to have failed to display the required badges during their defeat at Hull City
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United are expected to comply when they return to Old Trafford on Sunday to face Ipswich Town, with Premier League patches set to be displayed on both sleeves.
The club are continuing to explore options for a replacement sponsor, having had a commercial partner on their sleeves for the last eight seasons.
The issue provided an unwanted off-field footnote to a difficult afternoon for Michael Carrick’s side, whose campaign began with a shock loss at Hull.
Hull were impressive as Man Utd lost on the opening weekend of the new season
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PAUnited had hoped that a new season would bring a clean break from the inconsistency which plagued them on their travels last term.
Yet captain Bruno Fernandes suggested the performance contained too many echoes of their previous problems.
The Portuguese midfielder was frustrated by United’s lack of intensity and accused the team of allowing Hull to settle far too easily in the early stages.
“Same mistakes as we did last season in away matches,” Fernandes said after the final whistle.
“Every away game we give too much of the ball to them. In the first 20 minutes, the goalkeeper was the one with the most touches.
“We needed to press more, be more aggressive, and then again we need to work on set plays and not concede these types of goals.
Michael Carrick has insisted Man Utd can bounce back despite their nightmare defeat to Hull | PA
“Against these types of teams, they are waiting for that moment.”
As for Carrick, the United boss insisted they wouldn’t allow the result to puncture the positive mood inside the camp behind the scenes.
“It was never going to be perfect today but I think going behind and giving ourselves a lot to do makes it more difficult, probably a typical one of those games of a newly promoted team at home,” he stated.
“You can’t give them much, they’ve got a lot to hold on to, and then after that, we had moments, we had opportunities, we just didn’t have that spark to then put the chances away or create any more.
“Listen, we’re bitterly disappointed with the result today but it won’t knock us.”
He added: “It’s one game. It’s the first game of the season so it’s disappointing enough and it hurts, of course it does. But it’s one game, it doesn’t change the whole course of the direction the team or the football club is going in. We’ll stay calm, stay in the bubble and focus on next week.”
