Striker Marcus Rashford did not shake hands with the assistant coach of Man Utd and threw things after leaving the field in the defeat to Tottenham in the English Premier League.
In the 85th minute, when Man Utd was 2-0 down by Tottenham on August 19, coach Erik ten Hag withdrew Marcus Rashford to take a break to bring in Anthony Martial. On his way back to the technical area, a Man Utd assistant held out his hand, but Rashford did not shake this person’s hand. Regarding the seat, Rashford picked up an object that looked like a piece of clothing and threw it to the ground. Teammate Alejandro Garnacho sitting next to him saw this, turned away and showed no emotion.
Rashford was scored 5.9 points by Whoscored statistics in this match, the lowest on the field. He had a chance to face but hit goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s arm, and a header from close range missed the target.
According to former midfielder Roy Keane, body language from the start of the game showed that Rashford was uncomfortable in the role on the pitch. Because rookie Rasmus Hojlund has not recovered from injury, Rashford has to play central striker, and his left position is for Garnacho. However, both of these players did not play well at Tottenham, making Man Utd unable to score. “Rashford looks like a kid on the pitch,” Keane told Sky Sports. And former midfielder Jamie Redknapp said that Rashford “didn’t want to kick”.
Man Utd players throwing items when being substituted is not without precedent. In January 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo also threw his jacket and did not shake hands with coach Ralf Rangnick when he had to leave the field early despite the home team leading the Brentford goal. However, Rashford’s actions are not a hot topic of discussion in the British media, compared to Ronaldo before.
Man Utd lost to Tottenham on aggregate 0-2, receiving the first defeat this season. They have lost away from home all of the last 9 matches against the Top 9 teams in the Premier League. This series of defeats can be increased to 10 matches because in the next away match, they play at Emirates Stadium against Arsenal.