Manchester United fans might have had to swallow yet another league title for Man City, but they are still hoping to put a dent in their chances of winning the treble as they are now calling for Erling Haaland to be banned from the FA Cup final after swearing on live TV.
The celebrations after City‘s latest title win have already spawned plenty of memes in just a couple of days — Haaland rocking up to the title party in his pyjamas, cooking his own tea in a restaurant and running off to dance mid-interview just to name a few — but the star striker’s little outburst on telly is causing a bit of a stir.
ln case you missed it, the 22-year-old ambushed Sky Sports whilst they were chatting to Jack Grealish after full-time to tell him, “I f***ing love you, you know that?”
As is usually the case with the big Norwegian personality, it was undeniably funny:
United fans might want Haaland banned for swearing, but he continues to crack us up regardless.
Now, we all know this was just a little bit of fun and isn’t even the first time Haaland has sworn on TV, but aside from being flagged as inappropriate for a live broadcast pre-watershed, United fans watching on were almost immediately taken back to over a decade ago and Wayne Rooney.
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The club’s all-time leading goalscorer and England legend was hit with a two-match ban which saw his miss the 2011 FA Cup semi-final against Man City, no less, after shouting “f***ing come on!” down the camera following their 4-2 comeback against West Ham when Rooney scored a hattrick.
Despite leaving the fans, players and Sir Alex Ferguson outraged, the decision to suspend him was upheld following a failed appeal and United had to do without their then-in-form star man for the semi against City, which they went on to lose 1-0 after a Yaya Touré winner.
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Naturally, although the controversial instance happened 12 years ago, many Reds are demanding that the same punishment be handed down to Haaland as a matter of parity, not to mention they’d do anything to see this year’s record-breaking golden boot winner miss the FA Cup final.
Seen United fans trying to get Haaland a ban for swearing on Sky Yesterday.
Thought they were being silly but then seen Rooney actually got banned for the same thing.
— Paul, Manc Bald and Bred (@MufcWonItAll) May 22, 2023
The particulars on why United fans believe Haaland should be banned from the FA Cup final.
Wayne Rooney got 3 match ban in 2011 for swearing on live TV, this saw Rooney miss the FA cup semi final against Man City which we lost 1-0, if same rules apply then surely Haaland should be banned for the FA cup final🤷🏻♂️ https://t.co/vGpd3nQPtB
While it seems that the Football Association (FA) are unlikely to take the matter any further, with writer Martin Lipton reporting that Haaland “will not be probed over his use of the f-word live on Sky Sports on Sunday”, it’s fair to say that one half of Manchester has a pretty valid grievance.
Nevertheless, if reports are to be believed, “FA disciplinary chiefs do not believe any action is required and that there are no plans to investigate” — sorry, United fans.
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Do you think it’s only fair that he faces similar treatment or should a harsh decision be kept in the past where it belongs?
We’re not saying that City necessarily need Haaland to take that step closer to the treble but it’d certainly help.
Manchester United, GMP, and the Council is clamping down on ‘illegal’ matchday parking at Old Trafford
Emily Sergeant
Manchester United has joined forces with police and the local Council to take action on a number of offences outside Old Trafford on match days.
This includes “illegal” parking, street trading, and so much more.
The football club teamed up with its partners, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Trafford Council, for another day of action to clampdown on a wide range of offences taking place outside its home stadium ahead of the team’s hotly-anticipated Premier League match against fierce local rivals, Liverpool, on Sunday 7 April.
Police and officers from the Council’s Regulatory Services Team tackled a number of issues on the day of action.
These included what was described as ‘rogue trading’ and ‘illegal street trading’, taxis illegally plying for hire or causing obstructions, and illegal parking, as well as the monitoring of food hygiene at food stands outside the stadium.
⛔ Old Trafford crackdown: illegal traders shown a red card
Working with @GMPstretford and @ManUtd, we took action last weekend ahead of United’s game versus Liverpool to stop:
❌ rogue street traders ❌ illegal taxis ❌ illegal parking
As part of this particular day of action – which followed a similar event outside Old Trafford on 24 February, ahead of United’s game against Fulham – Council officers and GMP staff spoke to more than 100 licensed taxis and hackney carriage drivers about illegal parking and illegally plying for hire, and 19 Fixed Penalty Notices were handed out to vehicles parked illegally on a clearway outside the ground.
Licensing and trading standards officers, along with Manchester United’s brand protection team, also spoke with all of the licensed pitches and street traders/peddlers outside the stadium, and a total of 73 products were removed for breaking rules under the Trade Marks Act.
Further legal action is set to be taken against some traders who were committing offences and were obstructive towards Council officers who were trying to carry out their tasks, according to Trafford Council.
Manchester United, GMP, and Council to clampdown on ‘illegal’ matchday parking at Old Trafford / Credit: GMP Stretford
“Our partnership work with Trafford Council is vital in being able to tackle illegal street trading and parking issues,” a spokesperson for GMP said in a statement following the day of action.
“We will continue to work with our partners to ensure a safe matchday experience, both inside and out of the stadium, for all those attending the ground.”
Jim Liggett, who is the Director of Operations at Manchester United, also explained that the club was “pleased” to have been able to join forces with Trafford Council and GMP on their day of action to clampdown on “illegal behaviour” outside Old Trafford.
He added: “We remain committed to supporting the local authorities as we seek to collectively reduce any impact matches at Old Trafford may have on the community around the stadium.”
Featured Image – Trafford Council
Sport
Stockport County secure promotion back to League One after 16 years
Danny Jones
They’ve done it: Stockport County have been promoted back into League One with a 2-0 win over Morecambe FC, seeing them return to the English third division after 16 years.
Having been sat at the top of the table for the bulk of the season, the Hatters came into Saturday’s home game knowing that they only needed a point to climb out of League Two having only managed to end an 11-year exile from the EFL back in 2021/22.
Only a couple of years on and now the Greater Manchester side has managed to secure promotion with a fairly comfortable victory and time to spare, with all the potential to lift the trophy and come up as champions – which manager Dave Challinor has insisted is the only way squad want to do it.
Yeah, let’s be honest, they were never taking heed of that ‘no pitch invasions’ warning…
It was a familiar face opening the scoring as County’s top scorer made it 20 goals for the season to send Edgeley Park into early raptures.
Stockport locals had already been dreaming long before these last few weeks as demonstrably one of the best teams for most of the year but it felt it touching distance at this point.
Then jumped up Fraser Horsfall – perhaps not the likeliest of scorers but certainly more than capable of climbing at the back post to power home a header, which is exactly what he did to tie a ribbon on the definitive result.
With title rivals and celebrity-backed Wrexham AFC also securing promotion with a 6-0 battering of Forest Green Rovers, it’s going to be a great shoot-out for the top spot and an electric end to the season as we wait to see who will win the league with just a few fixtures left to go.
All that being said, whether you’re a Stockport County fan or not, what a job Dave Challinor has done in the short time he’s been at the club.
From languishing in the National League for over a decade to being back where a ground like theirs deserves to be, they’re sure to be a great addition to League One next season.
Well done to the Hatters and all the best to the County fans who we’re sure are going to make the most of the weekend celebrations.
Danny Jones -
23rd May 2023 
