A plaque commemorating Sir Matt Busby has been removed from the directors’ box at Old Trafford .

His grandchildren have also been told they will no longer have access to seats there.

The move - particularly the removal of the plaque - is said to have saddened some members of the surviving Busby family.

Sir Matt is still revered by United fans for reviving the Reds after the 1958 Munich air disaster in which he was seriously hurt and which claimed 23 lives, including eight players.

He recovered and went on to build a new, all-conquering team built around Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best.

After his retirement, a plaque was mounted on his seat in the director’s box - one of four seats said to have been used by the family there.

Sir Matt’s children Sandy and Sheena used the seats until their deaths while his seven grandchildren also used them until this season.

A bronze statue of Sir Matt, which was erected in 1996 following his death two years earlier, remains outside the stadium.

But Amanda Eustace, who is Sandy’s daughter and Sir Matt’s grandaughter, told the M.E.N: “My dad always said it was a privilege to have those box tickets. We have been extremely grateful to United for what they have given us over the past years.

“We do still have season tickets, which is absolutely fantastic.”

Another source told the M.E.N: “For over 40 years Matt Busby’s family have had a table in the directors suite at Old Trafford, with four tickets in the directors’ box.

"These have been used by Matt himself, by his son Sandy and daughter Sheena. Since they have both died the grandchildren have had access to those tickets. That was until last season.

(Image: Getty Images)

“The powers that be at Old Trafford have decided to call time on this and have told the families they wont be getting any tickets this year.

“Worse than that they have removed the plaques on the seats, including the one with Sir Matt Busby’s name on.

“That name has been on his seat for nearly 50 years - so who is going to sit there now?”

The M.E.N. has contacted United for a comment.