Following what can only be described as a dramatic 90-minutes for the Red Devils against Fulham yesterday in the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup, the Austrian midfielder was asked by reporters to give his take on the match – which saw three straight red cards given and a brawl break out, all before he netted his first goal for the club.
The 29-year-old – who was signed on a loan from Bayern Munich until the end of the 22/23 season – was asked by ITV Football’s Gabriel Clarke in his post-match interview whether or not United won the game, or rather if it was a case of Fulham losing it.
And his “straight-talking” response to the question has seen supporters calling for him be signed on a permanent deal.
"Very happy, it was an important goal for the team!"
Marcel Sabitzer discusses Man Utd's dramatic win over Fulham and his first goal at Old Trafford! 🙌
It all came after a late second-half meltdown at Old Trafford, where Fulham winger Willian was first sent off for a handball on the goal-line in the 72nd minute, before Fulham goal-scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic then started squaring-up to the referee, and several other players subsequently joined in leading to an on-pitch commotion.
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Mitrovic was also shown a straight red card shortly after, as was Fulham manager Marco Silva for dissent.
Sabitzer then scored his first goal in a United shirt quickly after in the 77th minute.
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Two United goals ⚽️ Three Fulham red cards 🟥 Five minutes 🤯
After speaking on the game as a whole, when the reporter asked whether it was United that won or Fulham who lost, the midfielder shrugged his shoulders and said with a completely straight face: “We won it. Why not?
“We scored three, they scored one. We concentrated and were focused.
“I think we deserved the win.
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“We had some chances that we missed. Second half, we were 1-0 down, but, as I said, we came back and that’s the important thing.”
Marcel Sabitzer scored his first goal in a United shirt during yesterday’s dramatic FA Cup clash / Credit: Manchester United (via Facebook)
The Austrian international’s answer to the reporter’s question has seen United supporters heap praise on him, taking to social media after the match to urge the club to sign him on a permanent deal after his loan ends at the close of the current season.
“The way he said “we won it”. Absolutely love this guy,” one fan said on Twitter.
“Sign him for this interview alone,” another United fan said on Twitter, while a third added: “Cold AF. Love it,” and a fourth commented: “Love how Sabitzer handled this interview despite the usual moronic questions.”
Another fan added on Twitter in response: “Sabitzer interview brilliant. For the goal and interview alone he has to be a red next season.”
Sabitzer also spoke to Manchester United’s official MUTV channel after the match and described his first goal for the club as “massive” for him.
“I was overwhelmed,” he admitted.
“Scoring the first at Old Trafford in front of these amazing fans. And that important one, at 2-1 it was a massive one. I am very happy at the moment. I couldn’t reach it with the right foot, so I was just trying to hit it with the left foot and it worked out.”
“It’s massive win,” he continued. “We wanted to go back to Wembley, we did it. 1-0 down was tough, but we come back and it was a good one.”
With the prospect of another trophy on the horizon as United head to Wembley for the second time this season in the FA Cup Semi Final, Sabitzer said he’s prepared for another clash in the capital.
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“As I said, before the game we were very focused to go back to Wembley and we did it,” he declared, “We know we are going to face a tough opponent, strong opponent. But we will prepare well for it and we will be ready to go to the final.
The hearing over Manchester City’s 115 FFP charges will officially start next week
Danny Jones
After more than a year of speculation as to when proceedings will finally start, it has been confirmed that the hearing regarding Manchester City and their 115 FFP charges is set to begin next week.
Man City were first slapped with the laundry list of alleged breaches of FFP (financial fair play) and failure to comply with Premier League rules on profit and sustainability (PSR) back in February 2023, but little movement on the case has been reported since then.
In that time, they also won the coveted Treble and their record-breaking fourth league title in a row; meanwhile, the club have continued to deny all claims of rule-breaking.
However, it has now been revealed that City‘s hearing will now kick off on Monday, 16 September.
BREAKING: The hearing over Manchester City's 115 charges will start on Monday 🚨 pic.twitter.com/9ujOCryVMF
As explained in various reports, given the extended nature of the claims made against the Manchester side, it is estimated that the case could run on for up to two months if not longer.
Furthermore, it is thought a decision isn’t expected to arrive until spring 2025 – again, this is simply due to the number of charges brought up over the best part of a decade.
In case you need a refresher, the allegations levelled at Man City date back to 2009 and concern a supposed nine years of financial irregularities, as well as subverting UEFA FFP rules.
Some of the accusations made against them also include failing to cooperate with the European football body and the Premier League, as well as offering ‘secret contracts’ so as to pay one particular manager a larger sum than what they recorded in their financial statements.
The final verdict, whenever it is reached, will be handed down by an independent commission and City will still be able to make an official appeal.
It goes without saying that were they to be found guilty, it would be the biggest financial scandal in English football history and could be seismic for the future of money in the sport and regulations surrounding ownership, which have already grown tighter following the charges being issued.
And in case you needed a more detailed refresher on what exactly they are being tried for and what the possibilities are regarding punishment if found guilty, here’s a quick rundown:
Featured Images — Arne Müseler (via Wikimedia Commons)
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Billy Harris’ sensational Davis Cup debut helps secure GB’s opening win in Manchester
Danny Jones
Great Britain grabbed their first win in the opening game of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage this week with a hard-fought day against Finland which featured a truly stunning debut from would-be dark horse Billy Harris.
‘The World Cup of Tennis’ returned to Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday for the next stage of the tournament, with Britain getting their Finals group games underway this past Wednesday and starting as they mean to go on.
It may have been too early to throw in Jack Draper – who despite being one of their most promising squad members is still pretty raw from his draining semi-final defeat in the US Open last week – but, thankfully, experienced Dan Evans got the ball rolling and it became a case of building on the advantage.
That being said, you could tell from the early points of Evans’ opener against world no. 703 Eero Vasa that it was going to be a long day for the home team, as the sets felt drawn out right from the off.
Birmingham’s finest was taken to a tense tie-break in the first set of the day but, tough as always, he weathered the early test and emerged with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over the Finnish underdog who looked to be playing well above form.
Evans’ stamina and resilience were a big factor in their dominant display in the qualifiers last September too, but energy levels can only take you so far and after a tiring first match, Finland piled on the pressure in the doubles fixture where he and partner Neal Skupski just couldn’t quite survive two tie-break sets.
The 34-year-old duo were truly put to the test but, fortunately, the game was already a bit of a dead rubber, as the real star of the show came in the form of surprising debutant Billy Harris from Nottingham, who impressed everyone with his emphatic performance against in the other singles fixture beforehand.
Harris only earned his first ATP Tour win last year and is admittedly a bit of a latecomer to the party, but his journey is an inspiring one: working hard over the last 12 months and simply continuing to push so as to now earn his stripes with a Wimbledon debut earlier this year as well.
At 29, he’s at a crucial point in his prime years as an athlete, so it was important that he did his utmost to leave his mark on the GB squad at his first Davis Cup, and he tackled that objective head-on.
Notching a comprehensive 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win against Otto Virtanen – who is no slouch in this particular tournament – team captain Leon Smith said of the showing: “I’m thrilled for Billy – I think that’s one of the best debuts you’ll have seen. It was that good.”
Even on an early afternoon mid-working week, the second day of this year’s Davis Cup managed to attract nearly 6,500 fans to the AO Arena (roughly 90% capacity), which just goes to show how much of an appetite there is for the sport here in Manchester.
The opening rounds of the competition’s return to the city after a whopping three decades late last year saw its biggest overall attendance ever in this country and it’s clear Great Britain look very at home playing here.
Our boys take on Argentina in the next round this Friday, 13 September, where hopefully the likes of Draper can come back into the fold and give the likes of Evan, who has struggled with fitness of late, a much-needed bit of rest where possible.
Even without the likes of the now-retired Andy Murray, an injured Cam Norrie and Stockport’s Liam Broady, GB still look to be one of the teams in with a really strong chance of going all the way. Is The World Cup of Tennis ‘coming home’ and just how big a maiden tournament is Billy Harris going to have?
Emily Sergeant -
20th March 2023 
