Beckham boosts Man Utd anti-Glazer campaign

It may have seemed like a simple gesture, but David Beckham's decision to don a green and yellow scarf as he trooped off the pitch at the end of Manchester United's victory over AC Milan last night could prove to be his most significant action on behalf of his former club.

Although Beckham now plays for Milan, as a self-confessed United fan, he must surely have understood the significance of the move. Yellow and green are the club's original colours and are now worn by United fans opposed to the despised Glazer family, who have saddled the club with debts of £700m since they took over in 2005.

Throughout the game on Wednesday night the fans inside Old Trafford interspersed anti-Glazer chants with songs in praise of their former favourite Beckham. Joel Glazer, who was watching from the directors' box, put on a brave face but could not have failed to get the message. It was rammed home by the former England captain when the game ended.

Until now the Glazers have managed to withstand the opposition of the fans despite the fact that there are as many supporters wearing yellow and green as there are clad in red in the stands these days.

The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), which is orchestrating the campaign, has a membership of 130,000 - compared to an estimated total United fanbase of more than 300 million people worldwide - so the Glazers could happily ignore them. But Beckham's intervention has given the movement the sort of publicity that only major brands can buy.

Afterwards he tried to distance himself from the campaign by saying: "I'm a United fan and I support the club. I always will, but it's got nothing to do with me how it's run. That's all to do with other people."

But actions speak louder than words and United's global fan base will now be aware of the significance of the yellow and green scarf and the fact it is endorsed by brand Beckham.

The movement was given another boost today when the Red Knights, a group of investors who are trying to buy the club from the Americans, announced the appointment of the Japanese investment bank Nomura. The consortium has the backing of MUST and is led by Jim O'Neill, the chief economist of Goldman Sachs, former United board member and friend of Sir Alex Ferguson.