A popular Man Utd X account dedicated to the club’s academy is fearing closure after being reported for a breach of copyright.
A social media account dedicated to covering Manchester United’s academy fears it could be closed down after videos of the Under-18s’ win against Nottingham Forest on Saturday were removed for copyright breaches.
The Academy Arena account has more than 68,000 followers on X and keeps people up to date on developments across United’s age-group sides. On Saturday, the account posted videos from the 5-2 win against Nottingham Forest, including both of JJ Gabriel’s goals, taken directly from MUTV.
They have since been taken down and the owner of the account has received communication from the club that they believe will lead to its closure.
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Posting a message on X, the account said: “Today [Monday], I received communication from the club that leads me to believe that my account may be taken down due to DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) strikes.
“The correspondence also contained other comments unrelated to copyright, which I will not be sharing.”
A DMCA strike is a formal penalty issued by an online platform, in this case X, when a user violates copyright law by using material they do not own. Many social media platforms have policies which mean three strikes in 90 days can lead to an account being permanently terminated.
A United source said the issue was a standard process related to the use of the club’s intellectual property, which in this case was the match footage. The videos of Gabriel’s goals were taken directly from MUTV coverage of the fixture at Carrington.
It is understood United are looking to take a stronger approach to such breaches, but insist it is not specifically related to a crackdown on academy footage or social media accounts focusing on the club’s academy.
In the message posted on X, the owner of the Academy Arena account said, “I didn’t want to disappear without saying thank you. The support I’ve received since creating this account in 2022 has been overwhelming. Thinking back to the start makes me feel very nostalgic and brings back good memories. Over the years, I think we’ve managed to build a positive community together and I am proud of that.
“To this day, covering the academy remains a hobby of mine because I’m passionate about it. Hopefully I can continue doing so. This isn’t necessarily a goodbye, just a chance to show my gratitude to all of you.”
