Manchester United have reportedly handed out an indefinite ban from Old Trafford to the person who assaulted Frank Ilett during their win over Chelsea. Ilett, who has gone viral for refusing to cut his hair until the Red Devils win five straight matches, was assaulted on a concourse at Old Trafford and the club have now taken action against the person involved.
'United Strand' finds fame with hair promise
Ilett has found fame with a promise made in October 2024 that he would only cut his hair when United win five times in a row. The Red Devils' poor form has meant that Ilett is still waiting to take a trip to the barber's and he continues to document his progress on his Instagram page called the 'United Strand'.
The page now has over 495,000 followers and Ilett has admitted he's been taken aback by the reaction to his pledge. He told the BBC: "It's been an absolutely crazy journey – I never expected my hair, or my following, to be as big as it has become. I'm hopeful that maybe by the end of the year, maybe I'll get a haircut. The perfect ending would be one of the players to cut it at Old Trafford."
AdvertisementInstagram/XBan handed out after assault at Old Trafford
Yet Ilett's endeavours saw him assaulted at Old Trafford in September after a 2-1 win over Chelsea by Ruben Amorin's side. His hair was grabbed in an incident that was shared widely on social media and showed other supporters becoming involved to prevent the situation from escalating further. According to the Mail, Manchester United have been able to identify the perpetrator involved in the assault and have handed out an indefinite ban from Old Trafford.
Ilett spoke about the incident afterwards and admitted he has only been trying to spread some cheer during what has been a difficult time for Manchester United fans. He told : "Yeah, it was a bit weird to be honest! I thought he was just joking to start with, but then he started yanking my hair and calling me an ‘attention-seeking c***’. The whole day was full of hundreds of positive interactions yesterday and 99 per cent of all of the reactions to this challenge has been nice. But just a few people can ruin it! My intention with this challenge was never to highlight Man United’s flaws. It was always and always will be to spread humour and positivity to United fans in a difficult time. I never expected it to go on for so long, but I’m hopeful we can go on a good run soon and I, more than most…want these wins to come as soon as possible! I will always try to focus on the positives and hope that this was just a one off.”
Dalot sends message to Man Utd fan
Ilett's hair situation has not gone unnoticed in the Manchester United dressing room. Defender Diogo Dalot took time out to send a message to Ilett after the Red Devils won consecutive Premier League games under Ruben Amorim for the first time by beating Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield on Sunday.
Dalot told DAZN: "Let’s see! Hope we can give him that haircut! But we have to go game by game. Obviously, we know this is a very difficult league, we have tough games and, of course, we have to go after that consistency that we have lacked because we have already shown in the past that we can compete against any team in the world.
"We get to the big games, we get to have good performances. Now it’s trying to make it happen every game. We now have the next game at home and that’s what’s important to us."
AFPHaircut now in sight?
Wins over Sunderland and Liverpool mean that Ilett is now just three games away from a potential haircut for the first time in well over a year. Yet Manchester United's form under Amorim means that barbers will not be getting too excited just yet about the prospect of being let loose on Ilett's famous hair. Amorim's side are back in action on Saturday against Brighton at Old Trafford and then face away trips to Nottingham Forest and Tottenham in the Premier League.
