Manchester United's players have been slammed as petulant and disrespectful for their reaction in the aftermath of their Europa League final defeat to Villarreal.
After accepting their runners-up medals, plenty of the players - including Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Victor Lindelof, Axel Tuanzebe and Aaron Wan-Bissaka - instantly took them off from around their necks.
While their huge disappointment was understandable (and second-place medals are something no player wants), football fans on Twitter accused the Man United team of being childish in how blatant they were.
"Anyone talking about Man U players taking their medals off on the podium like the petulant brats they are? Shameful behaviour," said one football supporter on Twitter.
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"No sportsmanship at all for them to take off the medals," commented another.
The sting of losing a final in which they were pre-match favourites, via the agony of a 22-penalty shootout, left most of the Manchester United squad understandably devastated.
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Other United fans pointed out that this is a team who should not be treasuring second-place medals. However not even waiting until they had left the podium before taking the medals off was perhaps a bit extreme.
The final on Wednesday in Gdansk was a tense affair with Gerard Moreno giving Villarreal a first-half lead, before Edinson Cavani pounced to make it 1-1 in the second half.
Manchester United upped the pressure after that and Marcus Rashford had a good chance to make it 2-1, but after the game went to extra time the Premier League side showed no significant signs that they were likely to win it.
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So the game went to an extraordinary shootout in which all 10 outfield players for both sides scored, before Villarreal keeper Geronimo Rulli converted from the spot then saved from his opposite number David de Gea.
So it is understandable why the United players felt so absolutely crushed in the aftermath.
But was taking off the runners-up medals straight away a signal of the Man United players not accepting second-best or the mark of childish petulance?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Europa League, Manchester United, Villarreal
