HeadtoHeadFootball -
Soccer

Report: Manchester United irate after Ronaldo's explosive interview

Predictably, Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent comments haven’t gone over well at Manchester United.

Red Devils officials were irate after the 37-year-old went public Sunday to air his grievances about the club and manager Erik ten Hag, according to ESPN’s Rob Dawson.

Manchester United addressed the controversial interview Monday, saying that they’re still considering their response.

“Manchester United notes the media coverage regarding an interview by Cristiano Ronaldo,” read a short statement.

“The club will consider its response after the full facts have been established.

“Our focus remains on preparing for the second half of the season and continuing the momentum, belief, and togetherness being built among the players, manager, staff, and fans.”

The timing of the interview was especially bothersome for the team, considering that his remarks were released hours after Manchester United scored deep into stoppage time Sunday to beat Fulham.

It was Ronaldo’s claim that he was being forced out of Old Trafford last summer that club officials heavily disputed. They contest that it was Ronaldo and his camp who were actively seeking a transfer away from United, sources told Dawson.

Manchester United and Ten Hag repeatedly said throughout the summer that Ronaldo, whose contract expires next summer, would be part of plans for the 2022-23 season.

Additionally, Ronaldo’s comments about the club’s training facility were also contested after he claimed that hardly anything had been updated in the years since his first stint at the club ended in 2009.

However, Dawson reports that the pool, canteen, and recovery areas have all been renovated. And the club has also spent over £200,000 to construct an analysis and meeting room for Ten Hag.

Last month, Ronaldo was dropped from the squad after refusing to come on as a substitute against Tottenham. He was forced to train alone and miss a Premier League game against Chelsea before being reinstated.

It’s understood that some United officials have perceived Ronaldo’s scathing comments as a way for him to potentially engineer a transfer away when the January transfer window opens.

NFL

Belichick calls for challenges under 2 minutes

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick, the league’s longest-tenured head coach, repeated his stance Monday that coaches should be allowed to challenge plays under two minutes.

Belichick did so after being asked about a key play in the Minnesota Vikings’ thrilling 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills, in which Buffalo receiver Gabe Davis’ 20-yard catch with 17 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter wasn’t reviewed by officials.

NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson later said the play — which was critical in setting up a tying field goal to send the game into overtime — should have been reviewed and ruled incomplete.

The NFL doesn’t allow coaches to challenge plays in the final two minutes before halftime or the end of regulation, in part so they aren’t allowed to manipulate challenges strategically to stop the clock.

“Provided the team has a challenge, they should have the opportunity to challenge really any play. I’m on record on that,” Belichick said in his Monday videoconference.

In a Monday interview on sports radio WEEI, Belichick added: “There have been other examples of that, plays that have occurred in situations where teams couldn’t challenge because the rules prohibited [it].

“I get forward progress, and things like that, that you can’t challenge. I’m not talking about that. I’m saying not having the ability to challenge a play that could impact the outcome of the game — even calls like holding and pass interference and things like that — I don’t see why those plays can’t be reviewed [by a coach’s challenge].”

Belichick is in his 48th season coaching in the NFL, his 28th as a head coach, making him one of the more influential voices on league matters.

First-year Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell, who was drafted by Belichick in 2008 as a quarterback, said of Davis’ reception Sunday: “It was right in front of me. I didn’t think that was a catch. In that mode, that needs to be something that either is from up top [in the press box with the replay official], or possibly New York [at the replay center]. We didn’t get any clarification on that. I did ask.”

As for Belichick, whose team was off over the weekend, he often prefers to keep his comments on NFL rules private among coaches at the league’s annual meeting.

After sharing his thoughts on the Davis play Monday, he added: “The rules are the rules. The competition committee and the league votes on those rules. Whatever they are, that’s what they are.”