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The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Inside Man Utd's ‘stag do' Far East tour including clashes with fans, player protests and humiliating open-top bus trip
MANCHESTER UNITED endured a nightmare post-season tour in Asia including an embarrassing on-pitch display, a humiliating bus parade and unhappy players. Following the club's horror season, the decision to play two matches in the Far East to generate some extra cash was not a decision popular in the club. 9 9 9 In fact, according to the Manchester Evening News, when the squad learned of that decision a delegation was sent to the club's football leadership on behalf of the first team to express their dismay. Some of the squad were said to be outright "fuming" about having to go on the six-day tour after a 60-game season, though with commercial duties taking up much of the agenda the trip effectively became a four-day event. Players were said to be concerned about having to cancel holiday plans, including one who complained about being forced to cancel a family trip scheduled for the half-term week. Club chiefs made a concession by bringing the departure time of their Malaysia flight forwards to Sunday evening, hour following the final game of the season against Aston Villa, after learning some players might try to "cry off" the 14,150-mile round trip to Malaysia. However, the actual mood in the camp on tour was said to be a better than anticipated despite the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham. Some commercial player events including fan meet-and-greets are said to have taken up to two hours to complete as the local supporters lapped up the chance to see Man Utd in the flesh, including on the humiliating open-top bus parade which happened in Kuala Lumpur before the first friendly against ASEAN All-Stars. Kit makers Adidas hosted a nocturnal poolside party at the W Hotel - where they stayed as part of their link with club sponsor, Marriott - following the 1-0 defeat to the All-Stars. Several guests are said to have attended the meeting, with many "admiring" the view of the Petronas Twin Towers in the background. That came after players were said to have been using gallows humour on the team bus back to the hotel, which had followed some booing from fans there. The rules on tour were more relaxed than a pre-season tour would be and players were given permission to head out on their first night in the city, with one star allegedly half-joking the trip would be "like a stag do". However, while some were tempted to go out into the city to enjoy the night, a senior star instead advised them to stay in. Amad Diallo, Alejandro Garnacho and Ayden Heaven were seen out on e-scooters, which had to be paid for by fans, while Joshua Zirkzee opted to enjoy some Thai take-out with a security guard after not being impressed by the room service options. Club staff were also able to let their hair down in the trip, with some enjoying drinks on the 14-hour flight to the Malaysian capital. On the eighth floor of the hotel itself there was a vending machine which dispensed £40 mini bottles of Moet & Chandon champagne. The second leg of the tour saw them go to Hong Kong, but they were barely in the country 36 hours following an early-morning flight which then saw them spend an hour in their second W Hotel for lunch before getting on the team bus for training. 9 9 9 9 Despite the glitz and glam of the 5-star establishment, things were sour away from the hotel with Amad and Garnacho seen gesturing their middle fingers towards fans and the latter doing so towards a club camerman. Amad later revealed he had been subjected to insults about his mother from some fans. Meanwhile, Garnacho - on the tour after being told to "pray" he finds a new club following a public dressing down in front of team-mates by Ruben Amorim - did the gesture without any clear provocation. The 20-year-old was involved in a fan altercation while out in the city as the fan seemed to invade his personal space and also looked very unbothered during a shirt signing event. He was described as "surly" during the trip, with club staff shadowing him closely as he signed shirts and posed for pictures without ever breaking into a smile. 9 The Argentine was one of the last to board to team bus after the All Stars defeat and donned sunglasses as he ignored requests in the mixed zone. One eyewitness claimed he removed his shades after getting through the packed pen, while Amorim later chuckled in a press conference when a reporter asked if there was any chance of Garnacho staying at the club. Amorim, 40, is said to have told a colleague about how exhausting the post-season tour had been, especially in the humidity of Malaysia. Man Utd finished their tour by beating Hong Kong 3-1 off a brace from Chido Obi and a late header from Ayden Heaven. The club lifted the Defining Education Challenge Cup as a result of the win, but the trophy was so undervalued that a press officer carried it back to the dressing room. In the first game back in Kuala Lumpur, Man Utd stars had been delayed in collecting their silver medals when the referee and linesman had returned to the dressing room before being called back out. All in all the tour was estimated to generate around £10million for the club - which should at least leave the club's financial department a little happier- although you would imagine a post-season tour next year may not be on the cards. After the break a pre-season tour in Chicago is next, which is when the real work begins.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Amad responds to 'unhealthy individual' in 28-word social media apology after sticking his middle finger up at a supporter during Man United's post-season tour from hell
Manchester United star Amad has taken to social media to apologise following an incident on the club's post-season tour of Malaysia. A photo of Amad appearing to put his middle finger up to a fan went viral earlier this week following United's 1-0 defeat against the ASEAN All-Star team in Kuala Lumpur. Amidst speculation online regarding what had prompted the incident, the Ivorian later revealed that the had received personal abuse relating to his mother. 'I have respect for people but not for the one who insults my mom…' he said on X on Thursday. 'I shouldn't have reacted like that but I don't regret what I did. We had a great time in Malaysia with good people.' However, the 22-year-old later apologised to those who have been disappointed by his actions, insisting his gesture was aimed solely at the individual who had insulted him. On X Amad clarified that his intention was not to 'hurt people' and insisted the post-season excursion has been an 'incredible trip' He wrote: 'Again, my intention was not to hurt people, I responded to an unhealthy individual. 'I apologize to those who feel concerned. Malaysia was an incredible trip for us.' United's tour came to an end on Friday after the club managed to salvage an unconvincing comeback victory over Hong Kong. The club found themselves on the back foot after 19 minutes when Juninho opened the scoring for the hosts. Amad was introduced at the break and United finally found their way into the game during the second half before securing a 3-1 win. The appearance marked the culmination of what has been a breakthrough campaign for Amad at United. After initially joining the club in 2020 during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's reign at Old Trafford, the winger was forced to wait for his chance in the first-team. A successful loan spell at Sunderland demonstrated his potential on the pitch, but Amad was forced to wait until late last year to finally make his mark at United.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Manchester United's post-season tour: Autographs, drinks, swearing and a swift exit from Asia
It was close to 1am local time as Manchester United's players sat on their plane waiting for take-off on the tarmac of Hong Kong International Airport, a first post-season tour of the Premier League era wrapped up in super-quick style. Only two and a half hours earlier, they had finally got their hands on a trophy by lifting the Defining Education Challenge Cup at the Hong Kong Stadium 25 miles away, Chido Obi being given the honours after scoring twice against United's hosts, to cheers from several thousand fans still watching, at last bringing this painful campaign to a close with at least a sliver of cheer. Advertisement United's surgical entrance and exit to and from Asia reflected an acknowledgement by executives that there could be no excess slack to timelines. The players were, according to several sources, 'fuming' to be told of a trip across the globe after a 60-game season and so a swift return to families was essential. The flight out was arranged so that players travelled from the final match at Old Trafford straight to Manchester Airport. United had originally tried to make Victor Lindelof and Christian Eriksen join the travelling party too, given both still have until the end of June on their contracts. But each one pushed back, with Lindelof's wife heavily pregnant and Eriksen getting married. Had they not had those personal reasons, United would have expected them to fly despite being about to enter free agency. In that climate, the squad decided to enjoy themselves, with the drinks flowing and music blasting on the flight over, which took off around four hours after the final whistle against Aston Villa last Sunday. A club-wide night out was also organised for the Monday in Kuala Lumpur, straight after touching down, with staff joining players in dancing at a club in the city. Blowing off steam away from a football environment was something Ruben Amorim said could help his players come together a few weeks ago , although the Hong Kong leg was more sedate, with no repetition of the England team's famous 'dentist chair' revelry before reaching the semi-finals of Euro 96. The tension of United's trip appeared to be evident in a few instances of players flipping the finger to fans. Amad did so as he walked into the W hotel in Kuala Lumpur, following the first game, later apologising on social media in two posts a day apart but saying his mother had been insulted by an 'unhealthy individual'. The words used are not clear from video footage of the incident. Advertisement Separately, Amad had raised his middle finger in the direction of Alejandro Garnacho during a packed elevator selfie with a couple of fans while Garnacho did the same to camera. Garnacho also showed the gesture at a signing event for supporters in the Adidas shop at the Exchange TRX mall in Kuala Lumpur, causing bemusement to the person taking the picture and as he walked off the pitch following the game against ASEAN All-Stars, the photographer there complained. The gesture, commonly understood to be an insult, was being used in this instance in an ironic, playful manner, sources say. Manuel Ugarte has been doing it in selfies with fans all season but club staff realised the issues, and the negative reaction, and advised players to refrain from doing so in future. There were no reports of it happening in Hong Kong and Garnacho signed several autographs before leaving the stadium. Before Friday's 3-1 win over Hong Kong, China, chief executive Omar Berrada posed for pictures alongside various dignitaries and exuberant Chinese dragons as red flames shot into the air at either end of the pitch. As in Kuala Lumpur, the crowd was not a sell-out, a combination once more of high ticket prices for certain seats and the lustre of this current team not being as compelling as previously. The most expensive seats cost HK$2,990, equivalent to £280, and ultimately, the 40,000-capacity was three-quarters full. In the same ground in 2013, for David Moyes' pre-season after Sir Alex Ferguson retired, the same seats were roughly £70. Nigel Lee, branch secretary of United's official supporters club in Hong Kong, said: 'The fact that we're doing a post-season tour right after the proper season ended speaks volumes for our financial situation. We knew the football isn't going to be great and later, when we saw the tickets… let's just say we felt the pricing was very ambitious.' Advertisement United had initially been expected to play at the Kai Tak Stadium, a new state-of-the-art arena with 50,000 capacity but Singaporean popstar JJ Lin had already been booked to play a concert the weekend before and officials felt there wasn't sufficient time to re-lay the turf. At the Hong Kong Stadium, a small section of Hong Kong, China, ultras kept a din going throughout, and they had reason to make noise when their team took the lead against the run of play, as Tom Heaton allowed Juninho's shot to slide through his hands. Those local fans doing the Poznan to celebrate was another surreal moment in this most bizarre season. Another came shortly after, when Bruno Fernandes was put clear by Tyler Fredricson's pass taking a wicked deflection only for United's captain to try a rabona finish – he had done the same with a pass against ASEAN All-Stars, with goalkeeper Ka-Wing Tse making a good save with his legs. Rasmus Hojlund's poor touch wasted a rebound chance, Jaydan Kamason had his effort cleared off the line, and Hojlund was again unable to get a meaningful connection after Garnacho's cross into the six-yard box. Trailing 1-0 at half-time despite outnumbering Hong Kong, China, by 15 shots to one, summed up this United side. The sporting merits of this tour came secondary to commercial needs but it would have been embarrassing if United lost to a side ranked 153 by FIFA, in between Guyana and Moldova. On the team bus back from Kuala Lumpur's National Stadium Bukit Jalil on Wednesday, there was gallows humour, with the gist being: 'only after the season we've had can we lose a post-season friendly and get booed off by our own fans.' Luckily for United, Obi made sure there was no repeat on Friday. Arriving as a second-half substitute, he equalised with a sharp turn and finish before glancing home Mason Mount's cross to turn the game around. Obi is raw, as some of his touches show, but his instinct for scoring at least provides some comfort after Liam Delap, United's top striker target, chose Chelsea. Advertisement Obi wanted a hat-trick, chasing down a defender and goalkeeper in the 90th minute, and just missing Amad's cross that was headed in by Ayden Heaven to apply a third. The two players United signed from Arsenal's youth system last summer had ensured a satisfactory end to the trip at least. Shea Lacey, whose appearances for United's youth teams have been limited on his return from injury, and Sekou Kone, did well with cameos in the first half. Lee, from the official supporters club, said: 'At half-time, it looked like it could be a worse embarrassment than the game against ASEAN All-Stars. It was obvious that the first-team regulars who started the game had a long, tiring season. I am glad the team got their act together in the second half and turned it around. Chido Obi looked impressive. 'I was also surprised the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho and Casemiro played a full half. From past pre-season tours and the game in Kuala Lumpur, I thought we'd be lucky to see each of them play for 15 minutes. Robin van Persie came on for the final 10 minutes in the 2013 game here. 'It seemed like they were trying to make up for, or 'give face' to, the local supporters for an utterly disappointing season, and a very short stay – less than 36 hours.' The sweltering heat of Kuala Lumpur had inhibited efforts for a comeback but the climate in Hong Kong was much more forgiving. The light rain throughout invited Amorim to joke pre-match that the weather had made United feel more at home. Open training in those conditions was kept very light, with only a small group actually doing ball work in front of a crowd of a few hundred. Amorim tried to entertain them by booting a couple of balls high into the air and into the stands. The whole squad came out to sign autographs before going back indoors for recovery work. Advertisement Lee attended the session and an event hosted by Adidas in their Mongkok outlet on Friday a couple of hours prior to kick-off, where United sent Luke Shaw, Patrick Dorgu and Obi. 'In both events I felt the players were a lot more generous in giving autographs and photos than expected,' he said. Training in Kuala Lumpur gave a much better glimpse into Amorim's methods, the main drill being a full outfield 10 passing around mannequins to score past either Andre Onana or Heaton, who is expected to sign a new one-year contract. Amorim stood in the middle encouraging his players to recycle the ball round the back and centrally, with the wing-backs advancing to cross. It required several staff members to get the yellow inflatable mannequins onto the pitch because they were so heavy with water in their bases to weigh them down. Adelio Candido, Amorim's assistant, managed to carry one in each hand. Typically, United use metal mannequins which spike into the grass and are lighter, but the organisers had selected more expensive equipment in an attempt to please. When some flopped over due to not containing enough water, jokes on the sidelines inevitably compared them to some of United's efforts this season. Onana, Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot left Malaysia at half-time, flying to India via private jet to carry out a packed day with sponsors on Thursday rather than travelling to Hong Kong. They were excused from United duty a day earlier than the rest of their teammates. In Hong Kong, Amorim could not suppress a chuckle at a pre-game question directed to Amad on whether Garnacho's duties for United were coming to an end. Garnacho was United's brightest player in the first half, raising the atmosphere with his dribbling and crossing. Amorim was more forthright over Fernandes, insisting he feels his best player will stay amid serious interest from Al Hilal. Fernandes left the ground in the manner he had conducted himself this whole trip, with dignity and courtesy, signing autographs and posing for pictures. 'It would be so much fun to come here with titles,' Amorim said. 'The people are really lovely and respectful. We are grateful for everybody. We want to return with better results, with more people watching the game.' Advertisement As for his message now to his players? 'I was a player, you can disconnect,' he said. 'They know we underperformed badly this season. The important thing is that we have to be ready. We have to use every minute in every week of pre-season. We need to arrive in shape. We had meetings about that. That is the only way to take action. 'Everybody knows next season will be massive for everybody. I have been sending messages every week. They know next year, it is clear, we need to be so much better.' The translator communicated Amorim's words into Cantonese and then, in English, said: 'Thank you for coming to Hong Kong.' Amorim, who has taken on so much more media responsibilities than when in charge of Sporting CP, addressed the four English journalists who had travelled to cover this tour. 'Two months without you guys; I will miss you every day,' he said with a large dollop of sarcasm. 'See you in two months.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Recap: LSU baseball starts regional with a win over Little Rock
LSU welcomed three teams into Baton Rouge this weekend for a regional at Alex Box Stadium. Dallas Baptist, Rhode Island, and Little Rock all entered the weekend with a shot to advance to a Super Regional. We had to wait after a lengthy weather delay, but LSU started its postseason off with a win over Little Rock. Anthony Eyanson was chosen to make the first start of the tournament instead of Kade Anderson. Eyanson and Anderson have been 1A and 1B all year for the Tigers, so either pitcher would be able to get the job done. The Tigers got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning as Jake Brown hit an RBI single to give LSU a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second inning, Jared Jones hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 2-0. Eyason kept the Trojans off the board, and the lead remained 2-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning when Danny Dickinson hit a solo shot to left field to increase the lead to 3-0. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Tigers doubled their lead as Derek Curiel hit an RBI double and Dickinson hit a two-run homer to extend the lead to 6-0 for the Tigers. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Michael Braswell III hit an RBI double to increase the lead to 7-0. In the top of the eighth inning, Eyanson remained in the game. However, after retiring the first two hitters of the inning, he was pulled from the game as DJ Primeaux entered to pitch. Eyanson's day finished after 7.2 innings. He gave up zero runs on five hits, seven strikeouts, and one walk. Mavrick Rizy entered to pitch in the top of the ninth inning as he looked to close out the victory. Rizy got two strikeouts and a groundout to end the game. With the Tigers finishing the game before 10:34 PM, Dallas Baptist and Rhode Island will play their game on Friday night. LSU will face the winner of that game tomorrow at a time to be determined. This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Recap: LSU baseball gets game one win vs. Little Rock in regional
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Embarrassing defeat and bizarre parade - inside Man Utd's troubled trip
"As a player, and I have been there, they probably need this like a hole in the head".Hong Kong coach Ashley Westwood was blunt and to the point when speaking about Manchester United's post-season tour of a former FA Youth Cup winner with United in 1995 - and someone who worked for the club's in-house television channel MUTV during a recent pre-season trip to Perth - Westwood has an understanding of the pressures and demands associated with being a player for the 20-time English publicly United's players talked up their post-season trip to Asia and privately officials have praised the way they carried out a mountain of commercial demands, Westwood says no-one should be in any doubt about the reality of the situation."No-one says it on the record because they can't, but fans and sponsors pay wages and this trip is all about revenues," he half-time in Hong Kong, as United trailed 1-0 to the national side currently 153rd in Fifa's rankings, the tour looked to be going from bad to youngsters signed from Arsenal this season, striker Chido Obi and defender Ayden Heaven, scored the second-half goals that brought a below-capacity crowd at a rain-soaked Hong Kong stadium to life - and at least allowed United to head into the summer on a winning the trip itself was a success is another matter. A trip focused on commercial partnerships United estimate they will generate around £10m from their 14,000-mile, six-day expedition. The payment is not connected to ticket sales, so it is a time when their focus in pre-season - both commercially and from a player preparation perspective - is on the United States, where they will go for the third successive summer in July, United's presence in the region also allows them to 'service' existing big-money sponsorship deals with the likes of banking partner Maybank, airline partner Malaysia Airlines, beer partner Tiger and tyre partner evidence was needed for the real purpose of United's trip, it comes from the knowledge that Andre Onana, Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot had been substituted and were heading for the airport as their team-mates were being booed by a large percentage of a 72.550 crowd following their surprise 1-0 defeat to a South-East Asia select XI on trio were boarding a private plane to Mumbai, where they would spend Thursday on a packed commercial programme arranged by Apollo, before getting home a day earlier than those who had gone on to Hong Kong for the second Westwood said, United's players had been given little choice about being on the immediately after the final Premier League game of the season against Aston Villa meant there was no opportunity to back out. Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt was present, even though he was not fit enough to play. United wanted Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof there too but both had personal reasons to Ruben Amorim's squad opted to make the best of it. Unlike a focused and driven pre-season tour, it is fair to say their approach to this event was 'relaxed'.The scenes on the flight from Manchester to Kuala Lumpur were said to be like a party, with loud music and drinks. Some players and staff members were seen at a club on the Monday, immediately after their arrival. There was also a chance to wind down after Wednesday's game. In the wake of their defeat in Kuala Lumpur, there was gallows humour among the squad when it was pointed out somewhat ironically that after the season they just had domestically, they had now managed to get booed by fans 6,600 miles away from striker Joshua Zirkzee nipped out - accompanied by security - to get some late-night food because room service was not to his taste. Amad Diallo, Heaven and Alejandro Garnacho tried to take an e-scooter ride, only to discover they did not have the money to pay for does not appear to have been an enthusiastic following Amorim's return from a post-Europa League final summit with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and other club executives in Monaco he could find a new club in the summer, the young Argentina winger remains popular among supporters, as evidenced by the raucous cheers for him in both there is evidence of a lack of the ASEAN All-Stars defeat, Garnacho went straight past opposition captain Sergio Aguero, a 31-year-old Argentine-born naturalised Malaysian, despite promising him his shirt from the game. The damage was rectified by a United kitman, who grabbed Garnacho's shirt from the dressing room and handed it brought more negativity as pictures emerged on social media of Amad Diallo making a one-fingered gesture to a fan as he was leaving the team subsequently said he was responding to abuse against his mum. He accepted his reaction was wrong but at the same time did not regret specific behaviours raise an eyebrow or can be excused, from a corporate perspective, some of United's decisions have also been context is clearly different but having ruled out having a parade if they won the Europa League final in Bilbao, to see a group of players, including Zirkzee, embark on a bus parade through Kuala Lumpur was bizarre. Some fans did turn out - and there remains enthusiasm for United in this it is not on remotely the same levels as their last visit to Malaysia, in 2009, when they were still Premier League champions, had the likes of Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney in their that time, they struggled to get around their hotel such was the constant presence of fans. Their first game attracted a crowd of 85,000 - and there were 30,000 at a second, arranged at 48 hours' notice after a terrorist attack in Jakarta, where they were supposed to be was on that tour too and the Portuguese winger was part of a three-man team of 'legends' along with Wes Brown and John O'Shea who have been on this trip to push the club narrative. Amorim learns what being Man Utd boss means For Amorim, it has been another eye-opening crash course in what being a figurehead at United means. "More than a manager" was his assessment in Hong Kong on Thursday was introduced to the Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian prime minister, and a United fan, during his time in Kuala Lumpur. It is the kind of exposure you do not get at most clubs, even the size of his previous team Sporting in knows, stripped away from the sideshow, he must deliver in Malaysia, after a season in which he described his team as "probably the worst" United have ever had, his side managed to lose against a team made up of players from a region with no history of making an impact on the global stage. United were booed off, Amorim claimed his side were "chokers" and he had to implore supporters to buy tickets for the Hong Kong game. It was a plea that went unheeded judging by the numbers of empty arrived in Hong Kong to a huge thunderstorm and a deluge that raised concerns the final match of the trip might not take game went ahead, although it did so amid fresh speculation over the future of skipper Bruno Fernandes, who has been the subject of a huge offer from Saudi club Al-Hilal, who want the Portugal midfielder to be part of their squad at the Club World believes Fernandes will stay, but until the 30-year-old or Al Hilal specifically state otherwise, nothing is victory against Hong Kong was well received by the most of those there to witness Amorim accepts the trip was missing something pretty June and August 2011, market research company Kantar conducted a poll of "nearly 54,000 adults in 39 countries" and concluded United had 659 million global "followers".In this period of brutal cost-cutting, it seems doubtful Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be commissioning an update any time soon. On the evidence here in Hong Kong and Malaysia, it is hard to imagine United have close to that number once they dominated the Premier League commercially, now they trail Manchester City, who have generated greater prize money over the past are not the draw they once were, despite the red shirts on show this week, which, in fairness to Fernandes, Garnacho and others, they spent time signing for fans before leaving for Hong Kong airport and is not known when they will return to the region - but Amorim knows for certain what would make it a better experience than this one."We want to return but I would like to come back with better results," he said."The people are really lovely and respectful and we are grateful for everybody. But it would be so much fun to come here with titles."
