Matheus Cunha’s Three-Word Response Amid Fears of Ban For Arsenal Incident
Matheus Cunha posted three words on his Instagram following his expletive after scoring the winner for Manchester United against Arsenal.
Cunha came off the bench to curl a stunning strike past David Raya and seal United's first Premier League win at the Emirates Stadium in eight years.
United led 2-1 after Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu scored for the second game running following Lisandro Martinez putting through his own net.
Mikel Merino equalised for the Premier League leaders from a corner but then Cunha popped up with a moment of magic in the 87th minute to secure a second win in a row against the top two under caretaker boss Michael Carrick.
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It was the Brazilian's fifth goal for United and he certainly enjoyed it, with Peter Drury issuing an apology for colourful language on Sky Sports.
Drury said, "If you heard some bad language in among the celebrations, for that we apologise".
The exact profanities were not initially known but such an action can carry a ban as "The FA views swearing directly into a lens as a 'clear and deliberate' act of misconduct that brings the game into disrepute".
The Sun reported that Cunha appeared to scream “It’s the f*****g biggest!” into the camera after finding the net.
And the former Wolves man seemed to confirm his comment. On Instagram, he posted a series of pictures of him celebrating with the away fans, with the caption, "The freaking biggest."
Though there has been no official comment, the rules state that even if the referee does not hear a player swearing, the FA are able to "take retroactive disciplinary action if the incident is caught on camera and broadcast to a wide audience".
The most well-known example was in 2011 when Wayne Rooney was hit with a two-game ban for swearing at the camera after scoring in a 4-2 comeback win over West Ham United.
Admitting the charge, Rooney, who apologised, said the punishment was "excessive" and "doesn't seem right" in a statement.
As a result, he missed the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley and a Premier League game against Fulham.
Carrick has not responded to Cunha's expletive but did shower the 26-year-old with praise after his contributions from the bench in his first two games at the helm.
“Matheus has not started both games, but he’s had a real big impact and he’s been disappointed not to start," Carrick stated.
“But he’s used it in a really good way. Two huge moments and he totally deserves that winning goal for how he’s applied himself all week. I’m absolutely delighted for him."
Josh Lawless