Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has labeled the response to his team’s FA Cup semi-final victory over Coventry City as “embarrassing” and “a disgrace”.
United faced widespread criticism after surrendering a 3-0 lead against the Championship side before ultimately prevailing in the penalty shootout.
Coventry had a late goal disallowed for a slight offside following a video assistant referee review during extra time.
“Football is about results,” Ten Hag said. “We made it to the final and deserved it.
“We lost control for 20 minutes and were very lucky in the end but we made it to the final. That is a huge achievement.”
One of the critics of Ten Hag’s team performance has been former Premier League striker Chris Sutton, who stated that there is “no coming back” for the Dutchman.
Ten Hag will lead Manchester United in the FA Cup final against Manchester City next month, marking his second appearance in two years as the club’s manager. They lost to their Manchester rivals in last season’s Wembley showpiece.
Asked if he understood the negative reaction to their narrow win against the Sky Blues, Ten Hag said: “No. Absolutely not.
“The reaction from you [the media] was embarrassing. Twice [two FA Cup finals] in two years, it is magnificent.
“For me as manager, four cup finals in four years. The comments are a disgrace.”
‘Antony was provoked’
Antony, the winger for United, has faced criticism from external sources for his celebration after Rasmus Hojlund’s crucial penalty in the shootout.
The Brazilian forward turned and gestured to the Coventry players and fans, cupping his ears, but Ten Hag claims he was provoked.
He also highlighted Harry Maguire’s response, noting that the United captain turned and shook hands with the opposition players.
“He [Antony] was [provoked] and should not react like this,” Ten Hag said. “You have not seen the provocation, only the reaction, but he should not do it. I also saw Harry Maguire though.
“We should acknowledge the performance of Coventry, coming back at 70 minutes when we dominated the game. The game must be closed, but the comeback from their side was very good.”
Antony took to social media to explain his actions later on Tuesday, claiming they were in response to a Coventry player.
“The way our fans were treated by their player was not nice and I, in the heat of the moment, I’ve reacted to the provocations in a natural defence of my club!” he wrote., external
Forest response ‘not good for the game’
Ten Hag also criticised Nottingham Forest over their controversial social media post in response to the 2-0 defeat by Everton on Saturday.
Forest said they were “considering their options” over what they called “extremely poor” refereeing decisions.
Asked about the issue, Ten Hag highlighted the decision to award Coventry a penalty for handball against Aaron Wan-Bissaka which he disagreed with.
“You can agree, you can disagree,” he said.
“The handball for Wan-Bissaka is totally wrong, a mistake, but you can’t question it.
“It’s not good for the game and refereeing. We should respect them – and there is no respect.”