Alan Shearer hits out at ‘daft’ and ‘stupid’ Man Utd star after victory over Fulham
Alan Shearer thinks Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was “daft” and “stupid” for choosing to go to a nightclub on his birthday after they lost 3-0 to arch-rivals Manchester City.
Rashford was criticised by Erik ten Hag after the Man Utd forward chose to go on a night out following their poor performance in the Manchester derby.
“Yes, I am aware of it,” Ten Hag said when asked about Rashford’s post-derby night out.
“I spoke with him about it. It’s unacceptable, I told him, he apologised and that’s it. For the rest it’s an internal matter.”
The England international was then left out of their 1-0 win at Fulham on Saturday with Ten Hag revealing before the match that the result of a pre-match fitness test “was not good enough” for Rashford to play.
When asked if Rashford – who is one of the most valuable players in the Premier League – would’ve started if he was fit, Ten Hag added: “Yes because I think we have to close that case. I have said everything about it.”
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And Newcastle United legend Shearer agrees with Ten Hag that Rashford’s behaviour was unacceptable and thinks he should’ve just gone out for tea instead.
On whether Rashford was wrong and out of order, Shearer said on the Rest is Football podcast: “Yeah. Absolutely.
“I don’t care if it’s your birthday on a Saturday night. If you’re being dumped 3-0 after a terrible performance. You got to read the room. You can’t go into town, into a nightclub, on a night you’ve just been dumped 3-0 off your neighbours.
“You can’t do it. It’s just a no-no. So, yeah, it was daft and it was stupid for Rashford to do that whether it’s your birthday or not. You can’t go out after being battered.
“Dinner is different, but going into the nightclub, you can’t do that.”
Gary Neville also had his say over the weekend with the former Man Utd defender insisting Rashford should’ve stayed in after the derby.
“So, look. I’ve said this in my book. I’ve said this openly in public. If we lost a match, any match, forget a Manchester derby! If it was a Manchester derby, we wouldn’t be seen for a week, two weeks,” Neville said.
“But if we lost a match, nights out were cancelled. Simple as that. That was my rule. It was the other lads’ rule in the dressing room. You could not be seen out in a public place if you’d lost a football match.
“Because to be fair, you’d bump into people who paid big money to go and watch the club, to watch the team play, and they don’t want to see you really enjoying yourself and celebrating. It’s an optics thing.
“So, I’m all for lads enjoying their lives and enjoying their lives, but maybe that’s a night to just have a takeaway, maybe have a glass of wine, bring your friends round to your house.
“Just optically, it’s not great, I don’t think, if you’re basically seen out in a nightclub in Manchester after a derby loss. I don’t think it’s right. Erik ten Hag said it was a mistake; I would class it as a mistake as well.
“Marcus is from Manchester. I know it was his birthday, and you’ve got to live. But it’s a Manchester derby. You’ve just been beaten 3-0, and the reality of it is the fans don’t want to hear that you’re out on the town.”
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