Celtic fans to mobilise for Keane's Old Trafford testimonial

Roy Keane's testimonial is likely to attract the biggest gathering of away fans ever seen at a British game with up to 25,000…

Roy Keane's testimonial is likely to attract the biggest gathering of away fans ever seen at a British game with up to 25,000 Celtic fans expected to travel to Manchester.

Keane's current club Celtic have requested 20,000 tickets for the May 9th game. After consulting safety officers, United have decided the only way they can accommodate such a massive number of supporters is by allocating Celtic the entire North Stand, which holds approximately 25,500.

It is still anticipated Celtic will sell their entire allocation, helping to swell the attendance for the former United skipper to well over 70,000.

Keane has already pledged to give away 1,000 tickets to Manchester schoolchildren and local United supporters clubs and it is widely assumed the proceeds, which are likely to be in excess of £2.5million, will be donated to the Irishman's favourite charities.

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Meanwhile, United expect to smash the club record for a home game at Old Trafford when they entertain Arsenal on Sunday.

With more seats set to be made available in the new quadrants, club officials are confident of exceeding the 70,504 they attracted for a league game against Aston Villa in 1920.

However, even when the expansion is fully completed, Old Trafford's capacity will still fall short of the 76,962 who saw the FA Cup semi-final between Wolves and Grimsby at the ground in 1946.