Man Utd Submit Complaint to FIFA After Draw With Bournemouth

Manchester United feel they were 'unfairly penalised' coming into their Premier League clash against Bournemouth and have since escalated the matter to FIFA, according to reports.

United and Bournemouth played out an entertaining 4-4 draw at Old Trafford on Monday night as their defensive frailties were on show throughout.

Ruben Amorim was without three defenders for the game, including Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, while Noussair Mazraoui missed out after the club's request to have him available was rejected.

FIFA announced earlier this month that the deadline for players to be released to their respective squads for the Africa Cup of Nations would be pushed back to December 15, the same date as United's game against Bournemouth.

After holding productive talks with Cameroon and Ivory Coast, United reached agreements which allowed Bryan Mbeumo and Amad to play on Monday.

But tournament hosts Morocco turned down the same request for Mazraoui ahead of their AFCON opener against Comoros on Sunday, despite the defender training with United's squad in the build-up.

Mazraoui trained with United ahead of their clash against Bournemouth. Image credit: Getty

Morocco wanted Mazraoui to join up with them at the start of the week.

United, meanwhile, are frustrated by the outcome and have escalated the matter to FIFA, asking the governing body for 'support and guidance', according to The Independent.

They feel Morocco prioritised a national team training session over an important league game, as per the BBC.

Moreover, it is said United are also disappointed as their clash against Bournemouth was moved to Monday, while clubs who played at the weekend had their African contingent available for selection.

Ahead of the deadline on December 15, FIFA asked federations and clubs to "hold bilateral discussions in good faith" to find solutions.

They added: "In cases where there continues to be a dispute over the release of players subsequent to such bilateral discussions, FIFA will, in mediating between both parties, apply guidelines that take into account the circumstances of each case, including factors related to the timing of matches of affected competitions, the stage of these competitions, the historical and planned involvement of the players in the matches in question, as well as any other pertinent factors."

United and Bournemouth played out an entertaining 4-4 draw. Image credit: Getty

From a personal perspective, Mazraoui trained with United's first team in the days before Monday's game at Old Trafford and remained respectful and professional throughout the difficult situation.