Man Utd ‘vulnerable’ to FIFA charge over Sancho as Keane tells winger to show ‘humility’
Robin Bairner
- 28 Sept 2023 08:26 BST
- 4 min read
Manchester United are confident they have acted within the law with regard to their treatment of Jadon Sancho, despite suggestions that they may have breached FIFA regulations.
Sancho has been asked to train alone since a falling out with manager Erik ten Hag, who left him out of a Premier League encounter with Arsenal in August and publicly rebuked the player’s effort in training.
The player hit back with a post on social media that claimed he had been made a “scapegoat” at Man Utd. After a prolonged period, the post was deleted and then Sancho deactivated his Instagram account.
MORE: Five January wingers Man Utd could target amidst Antony and Sancho mess
In the meantime, he has been asked to train away from Man Utd’s first-team squad while he is not even allowed to use the dressing room of the canteen. It is these punishments that could potentially contravene both FIFA regulations and UK employment law, with ESPN stating that this could fall under the banner of “abusive conduct”.
The Express reports, however, that the Red Devils “are comfortable that they have taken specific measures to ensure they remain on the right side of the rules”.
United feel they have circumvented this problem by providing coaches to work directly with the player, thereby maintaining a high level of training for him.
MORE: Ex-Man Utd boss to end Sancho's Old Trafford nightmare
‘Sancho might not mean it, but go and apologise’ – Keane
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has instructed Sancho to show “humility” and apologise to Ten Hag in an act that could reopen the door to the first team for the 23-year-old.
“I’d be embarrassed, I’d be ashamed of my life if the manager ever came up to me, or even spoke through the media because you get over that stuff,” he told The Overlap.
“People say you can’t say stuff about the players through the media, yes you can, you can send messages out to people.
Football dressing rooms are a strange dynamic, if a player shows they care and they are human, it’s fine
- Roy Keane“If you have got question marks over this player, he is not training properly and he does turn around and show some sort of humility and says: 'Maybe I got it wrong,' you can move on very quickly.
“We’ve been in dressing rooms where players have come in and said: 'Sorry lads, I have made a mistake,' it is forgotten about very quickly.
“Football dressing rooms are a strange dynamic, if a player shows they care and they are human, it’s fine. We move on quickly.”
Manchester United face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday before playing Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday, with both matches at Old Trafford.
