Following Manchester United’s FA Cup semifinal triumph at Wembley on Sunday in a penalty shootout, Antony turned to face the Coventry City players and cupped his ears. He later claimed he was ‘defending his club’.
United won 4-2 on penalties, advancing to their second consecutive FA Cup final. For the second consecutive season, an all-Manchester final was scheduled after Rasmus Hojlund scored the game-winning penalty.
With just 20 minutes remaining in regulation time, United was ahead 3-0, but they dramatically gave up, allowing Coventry to score three goals and force extra time. In the last seconds of the extra thirty minutes, the Sky Blues believed they had won it, but Victor Torp’s attempt was disallowed by VAR for an offside during the build-up.
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United won the game on penalties, but their victory felt quite hollow because of how they had hobbled across the finish line.Harry Maguire’s choice to shake hands with the Coventry players has been commended, but Antony’s choice to cup his ears and mock them has drawn harsh criticism from all quarters.
Antony has agreed with his manager, explaining why he did what he did in a social media post, just hours after United manager Erik ten Hag said Antony was “provoked” during the shootout.
Commenting on X, the old name for Twitter, Antony wrote: “Coventry demonstrated why they were able to go to the semifinals. For our fans, we aimed for this final slot, and we succeeded.
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