Big fight over Antony’s premature showboating for Manchester United continues

Brazilian footballer Antony made headlines on Thursday night for his showboating skills during the UEFA Europa League 2022-23 match against Sheriff. While goals by Diogo Dalot, Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo handed a 3-0 win for United at Old Trafford, Antony’s showboating skills took over social media. He came under fire for performing his trademark  360-degree drag-back spin move twice in the first half of the Manchester United vs Sheriff, Europa League match.

Showboating lands Antony in a soup

While the player reacted to the controversy by saying he will continue to do so, he received criticism from many prominent football personalities like Piers Morgan, Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves and Robbie Savage. English broadcaster Morgan shed light on the matter by putting out a tweet on Saturday. Morgan supported Antony and pointed out that Manchester United forward would have wasted time if he had to run to the corner in the last minute. 

“If Anthony had run to the corner in the last minute and done this to waste time & preserve a lead, all those howling at him would be cheering him instead. I like mavericks, and loathe hypocritical dullards. Keep doing it your way, @antony00,” Morgan tweeted with a thumbs-up emoji. Referring to one of the spins by Antony, which ended with the player passing the ball out of play and awarding Sheriff a goal kick, Scholes and Hargreaves criticized his choices in the post-match segment on BT Sport. 

Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves and Robbie Savage throw shade at Antony

Scholes shed light on United manager Erik ten Hag’s confirmation that Antony’s substitution was pre-planned. “I think it would have had a little bit of something to do with it [Antony’s skill]. I think you saw his [Ten Hag] reaction on the bench, I think it frustrated him. I just don’t know what it achieves. This crowd and me, I love a bit of showboating, I love a bit of entertainment but… does that do anything for anybody? Does it do anything for himself? I’d have to ask him,” he said.

At the same time, Hargreaves also revealed his take and said, “We all want to see skill, we all love that, but the point is you need to have skill with function. You need to be moving forward. If he does that in and around somebody I’ll be jumping out my seat, but the point is to do it like that with no effect, I’m not sure what he was trying to achieve.”

Meanwhile, Robbie Savage revealed what his reaction to Antony’s showboating would be if he was the captain of the team. As per Mirror, Savage said, “My critics on social media may argue that I could not have performed Antony's trick in my wildest dreams as a player because I would have tripped over my own bootlaces - they are probably right”.

Erik ten Hag, Fred and Neymar Jr. rally in support for Antony

It is pertinent to mention that, Ten Hag backed Antony for his action after the match. As per Football Daily, Ten Hag said, “When it’s functional I don’t have a problem with that. You are in the Theatre of Dreams, you have to entertain.” The Dutch manager suggested that he was okay with showboating as long as it beats the opponent. 

The footballer took to his official Twitter handle to explain his actions and claimed he will not change his style. “We're known for our art and I'm not going to stop doing what got me where I am,” wrote Antony. He also received support from his Brazilian compatriots Neymar Jr. and Fred.