Man Utd defend taking short flight to Leicester

Manchester United have defended the decision for the squad to take a short 100-mile flight for their Premier League clash with Leicester on Saturday afternoon.

United are due to face the Foxes at 3pm at the King Power Stadium, although the club said the initial plans were not to fly the short distance between Manchester and Leicester.

A spokesperson for the Red Devils told the BBC they had opted for that mode of transport due to 'circumstances', while there were reports of congestion on the M6 motorway, which is a major route helping connect the two cities.

Domestic flights have been proven to be the least energy-efficient means of travel, and United only announced a partnership with clean fuel supplier the Renewable Energy Group in July, saying at the time that they wanted to "raise awareness of how people can contribute towards a cleaner, more sustainable future for our planet".

In response to the BBC's questions about the flight, United said they:

• Have a policy to purchase certified green electricity for all club buildings and facilities.
• Achieved the Carbon Trust Standard certification for a sixth consecutive year in 2020.
• Achieved 12 consecutive years of energy and carbon reductions through the Manchester United Energy & Carbon Reduction Programme.
• Have reduced annual carbon emissions by over 2,700 tonnes since 2008.

While flying only contributes to a small percentage of the globe's carbon emissions, frequent flyers are disproportionately responsible for those emissions - and of course top-level football clubs fall into that category.

On the pitch, Man Utd will be hoping to put some stuttering form behind them following the international break. The Red Devils are without a win in two Premier League matches and have been knocked out of the EFL Cup.

Leicester, meanwhile, have made a very underwhelming start to the season and are are without a league win since 28 August.