Manchester United striker Wout Weghorst has given further explanation as to why he touched Liverpool’s famous ‘This Is Anfield’ banner ahead of their 7-0 victory last week.
The Red Devils suffered their worst ever Premier League defeat at the hands of their biggest rivals on a humiliating day in Merseyside.
Finger-pointing was rife among fans and pundits after the match and when footage emerged of Weghorst pressing the historic Anfield sign United supporters were understandably unhappy.
The Dutchman explained in a post on social media that he was trying to filter out his colleague in the Dutch team and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, who touches the banner before every home match.
read the following
In an interview with BBC Sport’s Football Focus – which will now not be televised in the aftermath of the Match of the Day debacle – Weghorst was asked if he could provide more clarity behind his actions.
“Of course, I know Virgil from the national team and we are very good [friends],” He began.
with the [pre-match] shaking hands He had already started the match and was a bit like… I can say “cool”, I think.
And so we walked by chance [out of the tunnel] Next to each other, he was slightly in front of me and I remember him always touching [the Anfield sign]. I was trying to touch his hand from behind and try to ignore him a bit. I told him “Not today, I know your rituals but they don’t work today”.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. But it was actually the only meaning I had, the only intention I had. Of course, I saw later, we had a spare day, I saw the messages from the Liverpool fans, that ‘I touched her to protect myself.'” Normally I don’t respond to anything about this but just because the fans from United are amazing, they’ve been really amazing with me and for me too, I just wanted to make that clear.
When asked if he understood why fans were upset, he replied, “I totally understand because when you see a video like that or when you see pictures from behind, I see it too. Then ‘Why did he touch that sign?'” “You know. It’s not very clever of me to do it but we shouldn’t make it any bigger than it is, I guess.”
“But I can understand for some people. That’s also why I wanted to explain it, so I’m glad you asked. I can explain it to the fans because it was nothing but me trying to actually win with United before the game started.”
listen now
In this edition of Promised Landpart of the 90-Minute Podcast Network, Scott Saunders And Rob Blanchett Discussing Bruno Fernandes’ inspiring response in the 4-1 win over Real Betis, concerns about David De Gea’s kicking ability and whether Aaron Wan-Bissaka should be called up.
If you don’t see this embed, click here To listen to the podcast!
