Alan Shearer has criticised Marcus Rashford’s decision to go out partying after Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat by Manchester City, describing it as “daft.” Shearer believes Rashford should have cancelled his pre-arranged birthday plans.
Erik ten Hag, Manchester United’s manager, labelled the manner of the birthday celebrations as “unacceptable” but did not disclose whether Rashford had been fined. Ten Hag mentioned that the striker had apologised to the rest of the squad. It’s been reported that Tyrell Malacia, who is currently out injured and hasn’t played since last season, also attended the party, per MEN.
Rashford was absent from the 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday after failing a late fitness test due to a training injury the day before. The England star, who turned 26 on Tuesday, has scored only one club goal this season.
Speaking on the Rest is Football Podcast, Alan Shearer expressed his disapproval of the situation, contrasting with Gary Lineker, who had taken a more lenient stance on the matter.
“I don’t care if it’s your birthday on a Saturday night. If you have been dumped 3-0 and it’s a terrible performance, you have got to read the room. The number of times that happened to me and to say we had a dinner planned or this planned.
“We’ve been beaten on a Saturday night and I said, I can’t go out. You can’t go into a town, into a nightclub on the night you have just been beaten 3-0 off your neighbours – you can’t do it. It was daft and it was stupid for Marcus to do that whether it is your birthday or not.”
Manchester United are six points behind Arsenal who currently occupy the final Champions League qualification spot in the Premier League.