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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag snubbed journalists and reporters who were critical of his role during the club’s embarrassing FA Cup semi-final win on penalties against Coventry City last weekend.
United easily surrendered a 3-0 goal lead with 20 minutes of regular time left on the clock.
Ten Hag’s men were comfortable for large spells of the game but their mental fragility was exposed once again by Coventry, who struck thrice to force the game into extra time.
The Championship side nearly won it when Victor Torp found the back of the net in the 121st minute but luckily for United, the goal was ruled out due to an offside in the build-up.
The Red Devils eventually prevailed in the ensuing penalty shootout despite Casemiro missing the opening kick.
The manner of United’s victory against Mark Robins’ side drew widespread criticism from supporters and the media, who slammed Ten Hag and his players for yet another flimsy display that almost saw them ruthlessly punished by significantly inferior opposition.
After the final whistle on that occasion, Ten Hag acknowledged that United had got away with one although he insisted it was not an embarrassment.
The 20-time English champions put the scenes at Wembley behind them on Wednesday as they put Sheffield United to the sword in a 4-2 victory at Old Trafford.
Goals from Harry Maguire, Rasmus Hojlund and a Bruno Fernandes brace were enough to clinch all three points for United, who climbed to sixth position in the top-flight standings.
According to The Telegraph, it seems that Ten Hag still harboured some ill feelings towards reporters who criticised him during the team’s collapse against Coventry.
“Erik ten Hag refused to take questions from a number of journalists who were critical of him during and after Manchester United’s dramatic Wembley collapse at the weekend.”
“The United manager has branded the reaction to letting a 3-0 lead slip against Coventry as a “disgrace” and “embarrassing”, then after the club’s victory against Sheffield United made his feelings clear by not taking questions from a group of reporters in his post-match press conference.”
The newspaper adds, “It is understood that Ten Hag has felt some of the opinions and reporting of his future as United manager has crossed the line and believes it to be disrespectful. Some of the coverage he has taken issue with includes social media posts mid-match while the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday was still being played.”
It’s understood that journalists whom Ten Hag was upset with were not invited by United’s press officer to quiz him on the 4-2 victory over the Blades.
This is not the first time the Dutchman has taken punitive action against journalists. Last December, United banned four news outlets from a press conference because they didn’t afford the club a right of reply to perceived negative stories.
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