Manchester United’s Antony has broken his silence over the controversial celebration he made after his team’s penalty shootout victory over Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final. The Brazilian winger was widely criticized for cupping his hand to his ear in the direction of the Coventry squad when Rasmus Hojlund converted the crucial penalty.
Antony has since taken to social media to explain his actions, stating that he lost his cool after being provoked throughout the game. “Coventry proved why they reached the semi-final,” he wrote on X, the platform previously known as Twitter. “We seeked [sought] this spot in the final for our fans and we achieved. The way our fans were treated by their player was not nice and I, in the heat of the moment, I’ve reacted to the provocations in a natural defense of my club!”
Erik Ten Hag defended his £86million signing and also pointed out that Harry Maguire and other United players had behaved magnanimously towards their Championship opponents. “He (Antony) was provocated (provoked), that’s why this was a reaction of that,” said Ten Hag. “You haven’t seen the provocation only the reaction. But he should not do it. Did you see the reaction of Harry Maguire? I have seen Harry Maguire straight after and others. We should acknowledge the performance of Coventry coming to that semi-final and the comeback. We are for 70 minutes totally dominating the game by far, and 3-0 must have the game closed. But the return from their side was very good.”
United looked to be cruising to the final as the led 3-0 on the hour mark, courtesy of goals from Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes. But Coventry fought back, as Ellis Simms and Callum O’Hare scored twice in eight minutes, before Haji Wright converted a 95th minute penalty to send the game to extra time. The Sky Blues looked to have won an extraordinary contest as Victor Torp scored in the final minute of extra time, only for VAR to rule Wright had strayed offside in the build-up.
Antony insisted he respected Coventry but was lost his cool after being provoked. Ten Hag defended the Brazilian’s controversial celebration but conceded Antony should not have allowed his temperament to get the better of him.
