SEVERAL Manchester United players have drawn flak for making obscene gestures towards supporters during the club’s post-season tour in Asia, prompting backlash from fans and questions over the team’s conduct off the pitch.
The duo, Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho, were caught on camera making what appeared to be offensive gestures toward fans in Kuala Lumpur, where United played the Asean All-Stars at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
The lewd gestures occurred during Manchester United’s post-season tour in Asia, where they faced the Asean All-Stars at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
Following a disappointing Premier League season and a loss in the Europa League final, Rúben Amorim’s team faced further setbacks by losing a friendly match 1-0 to the Asean All-Stars, a squad made up of players from Southeast Asian leagues like Malaysia and Thailand.
Even though the team has been struggling on the field, fans swarmed the venue see the Red Devils before they left for the next part of their tour in Hong Kong.
A fan posted a video on TikTok that captured some players walking through a crowd. In the footage, 22-year-old Amad is seen passing by supporters who are chanting his name. He then raises his right arm and appears to show his middle finger towards the fans.
In a separate photo, both Amad and Garnacho are seen posing with supporters, lifting their middle fingers at each other while maintaining serious expressions.
This behavior quickly sparked criticism on social media, with many fans expressing their frustration. Most of the backlash focused on the disrespect shown to supporters who have remained loyal to the team during a challenging 2024/25 season.
Some fans were particularly upset, having spent significant amounts of money to watch the team play at Bukit Jalil.
It’s worth noting that while a large portion of the 72,550 fans in attendance were cheering at the start of the match, by the end, those cheers had turned into loud boos directed at the Red Devils, with many fans having paid up to RM1,500 for their tickets.
Should players really be treating loyal fans this way, especially those who have supported the team through tough times and made time in their busy schedules to see their favorite players?
If this is how Manchester United players are going to act, it not only reflects their failures on the field but also indicates a loss of the club’s core values, which have always emphasised the importance of its fans.
Are these players briefed on how to interact with fans? Did the organisers provide them with any guidance on public behavior? In Malaysia, respect is highly valued.
What happened here could be described as ‘Kurang Ajar’ and ‘Tidak Beradab’ in Malaysian terms.
It is hoped that the organisers and the club pay attention to this behavior and take appropriate action.
On a different topic, if the local media aren’t allowed to conduct exclusive one-on-one interviews or ask questions at press conferences, then why invite them at all?
To begin with, the pre-match press conference at W Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday was mostly taken over by the British media.
They directed all the questions to Amorim, who even made a comment about the British tabloids, noting their pervasive presence.
Meanwhile, during the post-match press conference, only a handful of local reporters were allowed to ask questions—a scenario that local journalists say is all too common when English Premier League clubs visit Malaysia.
This isn’t an isolated incident; it’s a common practice whenever an English Premier League team comes to Malaysia, where the British media tends to receive preferential treatment, as if they are deemed more important than the local media.
United ended the Premier League season in 15th place, earning only 42 points, and lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final held in Bilbao, which meant they did not qualify for the Champions League.
The club is set to play Hong Kong on May 30. This post-season tour in Asia, anticipated to bring in approximately $10 million (RM42 million) for the Red Devils – May 29, 2025
T. Vignesh is Scoop’s executive editor, and Sandru Narayanan is Scoop’s sports journalist