Manchester United fans have called for Erling Haaland to be banned after swearing in Man City’s Premier League title celebrations on Sunday.
Grealish, 27, was being interviewed by Sky Sports after Manchester City’s title success when Haaland appeared from nowhere to proclaim his love for the winger.
The Norwegian forward shouted “I f****** love you, you know that” into the ear of his fellow City star. A flustered Dave Jones was quick to apologise to Sky viewers for Haaland’s bad language.
But some United fans have pointed to a precedent set in the case of former star Wayne Rooney that could see Haaland banned. The former England striker, 37, was suspended for two games in April 2011 after swearing down the barrel of the camera following his winner in a 4-2 victory over West Ham.
The ban is still a sore point for Manchester United fans as it included 2011’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City. City’s victory saw them reach the final, where they would go on to secure their first trophy of the Sheikh Mansour era.
Many consider City’s 2011 victory to be a watershed moment in their recent success. And the implications of Haaland swearing on live TV have not been lost on United fans.
United fans have questioned why the situation should be any different in this case
One fan tweeted: “That’s Haaland banned then. Wayne Rooney missed the FA Cup semi-final for swearing on tv. They won’t have the balls to do it though.”
But, Sun Sport understands that the Norwegian will not face any disciplinary action. FA chiefs do not believe any action is required and there are no plans to investigate.
That’s because swearing during media engagements is not something that automatically triggers an FA investigation. The FA would only have intervened if they felt the context and tone of the comments justified further inquiry.
Crucially, Rooney’s outburst came during the game itself and was judged to have been “offensive, insulting and abusive language” in that context. By contrast, Haaland’s actions came long after the final whistle had sounded, and were part of an outpouring of joy and fun, rather than in anger.
United fans would have been hoping that any ban for Haaland might have seen him miss the FA Cup final against United on June 3.
Source: thesun
