Manchester United forcing fans to spend £50 on Cambridge replay

The two sides shared a memorable FA Cup draw last Friday, with the cash-strapped League Two side earning a lucrative return match at Old Trafford.

But the windfall for the Us will be at the expense of the Old Trafford faithful, it seems: the Daily Mail reports that "the club have written to those who have not yet paid out for the televised fourth-round clash with the League Two side and told them that if they do not do so they will not be allowed entry to their Premier League home fixture against Sunderland."

United's season ticket policy forces fans to buy tickets to FA Cup matches - and if they decline to do so, a one-match ban is enforced. In fairness to United the condition is made clear when a fan is granted a season ticket in the first place, and the policy has been consistently applied in previous seasons as we reported last year.

But many have baulked at the idea of shelling out £50 or more on a match against a lower league side which is both televised, and likely to end - as most replays do - in a one-sided victory for the top flight side.

One fan told the Mail: "'I find it unbelievable that the club think they can treat loyal supporters like myself that spend thousands with them like this - sending an email making threats and setting deadlines. This isn’t the first time this has happened and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I’m sick to death of having emails like this."

The fan added that he might boycott both matches "as a matter of principle".

A United spokesman was unapologetic, insisting that the club will stick to the small print of their season ticket regulations, saying that "the terms and conditions are clear" and confirming that the condition was introduced at the start of the season before last.

Shameless, money-grabbing, unconscionable? Maybe, but they won't catch Real Madrid up as the world's richest club without screwing every last penny out of their legions of fans. Then again, perhaps it's all a bit cleverer than that: reports last summer suggested that the waiting list for season tickets still runs into the tens of thousands, so the Red Devils can afford to impose some hellish conditions.