These days whenever there’s a Manchester United game, it appears that some controversy will inevitably be present around the corner. Recent games have placed the Red Devils in a difficult situation.
However, it appears that the off-field difficulties are no less for Erik Ten Hag. Recently, Manchester United made a bold controversial decision, and this time it was directed toward some journalists.
Manchester United play a decisive league match against Chelsea F.C. this Wednesday at Old Trafford. Just before the manager’s press conference, Manchester United released a statement blocking several high-profile sports reporters from attending Erik ten Hag’s press conference.
The club banned a handful of journalists including Sky Sports’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol; Samuel Luckhurst, the chief Manchester United correspondent at the Manchester Evening News; Rob Dawson of ESPN, and David McDonnell from the Mirror. They were all denied entry to the media briefing at the club’s Carrington training complex.
The decision came forward from the club’s communications director Andrew Ward. A club statement clarified: “We are taking action against several news organizations. Not for publishing stories we don’t like, but for doing so without contacting us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge, or contextualize. We believe this is an important principle to defend and we hope it can lead to a re-set in the way we work together.”
Ten Hag was also questioned over the club’s decision to which the 53-year-old replied: “They should come to us first and not go around our back printing articles, that is not the right thing”
This decision from the club is reportedly a consequence of recent articles suggesting that the Dutch manager has lost a part of the Man United dressing room. The report suggested that some players have expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the style of play and feel they are being trained too hard. Moreover, their opinions are not being respected by the manager.
Eric Ten Hag came forward to deny any such allegation and maintained that there were no issues in the dressing room and that the team was unified as one.
The ban has sparked widespread discontent among journalists with Luckhurst prominently speaking out against it. Samuel Luckhurst is a widely renowned journalist from the Manchester Evening News. He recently took to X.com to share his frustration.
The chief MEN writer voiced his concern regarding the tumultuous situation in Manchester in a subsequent article. He emphasized his innocence stating that the decision by Manchester United is a clear display of contempt for the supporters who rely on these journalists to speak on their behalf.
The feud between Luckhurst and Manchester United fans has been a long story now. The MEN writer was alleged to be spreading misinformation about the club. Fans heavily criticized his writing and labelled his articles to be disorganized, lacking structure, and filled with irrelevant anecdotes without depth or engaging content.
His writing style has also been described as peculiar and lacking any substantial information or original thoughts. He was also accused of consistently highlighting dressing room leaks and made-up unrest within the squad. People came forward to label him as a ‘gossip’ more than a journalist. Fans are therefore strongly in support of the club’s decision over the ban.
It remains uncertain if the ban applies to just one press conference or to all future briefings with the manager until further notice. It appears that both the manager and the fans would hope for the latter.
