A number of Dundee United fans’ groups pulled out of a scheduled Q&A with chairman Mark Ogren over an agenda wrangle.
The Dundee United Supporters’ Group (DUSG) – which liaises with the club on behalf of supporters’ organisations – was set to put a number of fan questions to Ogren and his board on Thursday.
Courier Sport understands many of the queries relate to the recruitment process leading to Thomas Courts’ appointment as head coach and the Tannadice club’s latest financial results, which showed a £3 million loss.
However, after delivering a proposed agenda for the meeting, representatives of a number of fan groups comprising the DUSG were left unhappy when the club presented an amendment allowing for Courts, Ogren and sporting director Tony Asghar to briefly address the meeting in advance of the Q&A section.
In response, those acting for groups including the Federation of Dundee United Supporters’ Clubs, the Dundee United Business Club and ArabTrust, along with a number of individual supporters, chose not to attend.
In a social media statement, the Federation said: “Despite the DUSG having presented the agenda to the club, they (the club) have taken the decision that they should dictate the agenda with the new manager/coach present and some players present as well.
Members Update pic.twitter.com/62ob4cLJAZ
— Federation of Dundee United Supporters (@feddusc) June 17, 2021
“The chairman, director of football, head coach and any players present would all address the group. Only after this would any questions be asked.
“We felt this was highly inappropriate given the concerns we wanted to raise and have therefore decided not to attend.”
Representatives of the Dundee United Supporters’ Foundation (DUSF) – who undertook to ask questions on behalf of their monthly dues-paying membership – did participate in the meeting and received answers to their queries following the introductory section involving Courts.
The Tannadice head coach left the meeting before the Q&A section began.
In an email sent to members seen by Courier Sport, the DUSF explained: “After consultation with the full DUSF steering group we took the unanimous, if difficult, decision that DUSF should be represented at the meeting.
“We had already asked our members to submit questions for the meeting and felt we were duty bound to honour that commitment.
“We also felt we should take full advantage of the opportunity to put our concerns to the chairman and the executive team face-to-face rather than not attending the meeting.
“We respect the decision of the other supporter groups and individuals on the DUSG not to attend but, on this occasion, we felt that we would be failing our members and missing an opportunity to challenge the club if we followed suit.”
The DUSF are set to send members a full summary of the meeting, along with the club’s answers to questions, in the coming days.