Erik ten Hag has called on Fulham to apologise for their TikTok post which suggested that Bruno Fernandes is a diver.
Earlier this week, Fulham posted a clip on their official social media account of the Manchester United captain rolling around on the turf and appealing for a free kick after a tackle by Sasa Lukic during United’s 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday. When it became clear that the referee was not going to award a foul, Fernandes stood up immediately.
Underneath the London club’s video mocking Fernandes, they wrote the caption: “So glad he’s OK.”
Fulham have no plans to remove the video. The club insist no offence was intended and the clip was meant to be light-hearted. But Ten Hag was unhappy when informed about the post.
“I didn’t know this but if they did it I would say it is not right,” the United manager said. “It is absolutely not right that a club makes such [a] statement because it is totally out of order and they were wrong, so they should apologise for this.”
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United insist that Fernandes was injured by Lukic’s tackle and that the Portugal midfielder played all of United’s FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night despite being in pain.
Ten Hag claimed that the injury was “serious” and branded those who claimed otherwise “pathetic”. The United manager also accused Forest of targeting Fernandes, who was fouled on several occasions on Wednesday night.
Ten Hag wants his captain to be given more protection in Sunday’s derby against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
“He is a very passionate football player and he’s a very creative one, he has created the most chances in the Premier League,” Ten Hag said.
“You see opponents are targeting him and especially after Saturday when he had the knock and they see it and then I feel, yeah, the referee should protect him there. They had to change at the start of the game because it was so obvious they were looking for him.”
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Despite his injury, Ten Hag said that Fernandes, 29, will be fit to play in the derby. Raphaël Varane will be available too, despite struggling through the 2-1 win over Forest.
Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martínez, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and Anthony Martial, who all missed the match at the City Ground, are also expected to miss Sunday’s derby.
United are already eight points adrift of the top four so defeat against their in-form neighbours would severely damage their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
United lost 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium last season but Ten Hag is confident of causing an upset, with his team winning six of their past seven matches in all competitions — the Fulham defeat their only recent blip.
“Look at our form,” he said. “We are also in a good run and the spirit is very good. We are united, we have the togetherness to make a good game plan.
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“We have done it before against City, lately against Liverpool. The players are looking forward to it, I can smell it when I am around here.”
Critics have crossed line, says Rashford
Marcus Rashford has responded to recent criticism by suggesting that while he was able to take “any headline”, there were sometimes “issues of tone” when he was criticised that did not apply to all players.
The Manchester United striker has often been criticised for his play in a season in which he has scored just five goals for an under-performing side. But his off-the-field behaviour, including a trip to Belfast in January that led to him missing a training session with United, has also been scrutinised. The United manager, Erik ten Hag, also branded Rashford’s decision to go to a nightclub after October’s 3-0 derby defeat by Manchester City “unacceptable”.
“So 99 per cent of the time, I can ignore the noise,” Rashford wrote in The Players’ Tribune. “But sometimes, certain lines get crossed, and I can’t help but want people to just understand who I am as a person.
“They’re not really writing about me,” he continued. “It’s like they’re writing about this character, ‘Marcus Rashford’. It can’t just be about me as a 26-year-old lad on a night out, or a lad getting a parking ticket.
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“It’s got to be about how much my car costs, guessing my weekly salary, my jewellery or even my tattoos. It’s got to be about my body language, and questioning my morals, and speculating about my family, and my football future. There’s a tone to it that you don’t get with all footballers. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Rashford said he felt some of the criticism goes back to the coronavirus pandemic, when he launched a high-profile campaign to tackle child food poverty.
“For some reason, that seemed to rub certain people the wrong way,” he said. “It seems like they’ve been waiting for me to have a human moment so they can point the finger and say, ‘See? See who he really is?’
“I’m not a perfect person. When I make a mistake, I’ll be the first one to put my hand up and say that I need to do better. But if you ever question my commitment to Man United, that’s when I have to speak up.”
Rashford revealed that his family had turned down “life-changing money” when he was a child so he could wear the United badge. “I can take any criticism,” he said. “I can take any headline. But if you start questioning my commitment to this club and my love for football and bringing my family into it, then I’d simply ask you to have a bit more humanity.”
