The players of Manchester United are allegedly stunned and "angry" at Marcus Rashford for missing their FA Cup tie after going out clubbing in Belfast.
The England international was left out of the squad that played Newport County in the FA Cup fourth round on Thursday due to a 12-hour, tequila-fueled night out in Northern Ireland. The Daily Mail claims that the international has received a lot of criticism from his teammates.
Senior team players are still "upset" by Rashford's nightclub incident, despite the Red Devils' late charge that saw them cross the finish line at Rodney Parade. Rashford had been having a rough season and questions about his commitment had already been raised.
The club was apparently misleading by Rashford's team over the sequence of events, with the claim that the nightclub film was taken on Wednesday rather than Thursday. However, prior to being photographed entering Thompson's Garage on Thursday while wearing the same attire, rumours indicated that he was present at Lavery's Bar on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, he visited the Northern Irish team, Larne FC. According to The Sun, Rashford and his pals partied until the wee hours of the morning, at which point a waitress assisted him in getting into his hotel.
As per The Sun, the waitress said: "I'm not surprised he missed training the next day given how late he got to bed and how much he'd had to drink. He must've known he wasn't going to be in any fit state to play football. He was clearly on a mission to get drunk."
She revealed that Rashford even asked if he would be served drinks after 3 am if he paid them extra. She added: "That made it clear to me that he had already made his mind up that he wasn't going to training on Friday. He had no plans to go home that night."
It is reported that the player returned home at 7 am after being flown in by a private jet.
This season, Rashford has been involved in two nightclub-related controversy. The first occurred in October 2023, when he was photographed celebrating his 26th birthday, shortly after Manchester City defeated him in a derby. Following the most recent infraction, United released a new statement informing supporters that the player "has taken responsibility for his actions" and that the "internal disciplinary matter now closed".
According to reports, Rashford is back in training and could play in United's upcoming game against Wolves on Thursday at Molineux. Last season, he was taken out of the starting lineup for being late to a team meeting, hence he was not included in this match. It is unknown, nevertheless, if Ten Hag has penalised the player for the Belfast drinking incident with two weeks' pay, which would supposedly be worth about £630,000.
Comments