Erik ten Hag told to ‘SHUT UP’

Suraj Radia

• 11 Apr 2023 06:45 CDT
• 2 min read

Erik ten Hag has become the unlikely target of criticism in Brazil after complaining about his team’s hectic schedule, leading to Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira telling the Manchester United manager to ‘shut up’.

Ten Hag expressed his frustrations after Marcus Rashford suffered an injury in United’s 2-0 win over Everton, which was the team’s third game in six days.

The United boss bemoaned the calendar in English football and called for players to be given more protection with the intense scheduling, however he didn’t garner the sympathy of Ferreira, who claimed the situation was significantly worse in Brazil.

WORRIES: Ten Hag delivers concerning news over Rashford

"Football here has some fantastic qualities, but there are others that are not inhuman," Ferreira said. "Nine games in one month!

"The Manchester United coach complains because Rashford got hurt and that is a consequence of the number of games he has. I'd like to ask him, 'Look, in these two months, I've got nine games each month. Shut up man, you don't know what you're talking about!”

Palmeiras played 72 games in 2022 while United will play 65 times this season if they reach the finals of the Europa League and FA Cup, with their next game coming on Thursday in their European semi-final against Sevilla.

Teams paying the price for jam-packed schedule

The schedule across the world has been increasingly strained this season due to the World Cup in Qatar which led to a month-long break in club football.

In England, there was a further delay after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September, which led to United and multiple other sides seeing two of their games postponed.

In a season which was already suffering significant scheduling conflicts, the delay has caused teams competing in Europe to play multiple times a week since the end of the World Cup.

RESPONSIBLE?: Ten Hag must take blame for Rashford injury

"Some things you can't avoid, but this was avoidable," Ten Hag said. "Why has the Premier League given us the late Sunday night game and the early Saturday game? I think it's not right.

"You are running a risk; players can't recover that quickly. All science and research will tell you players need a certain time to recover.

"It is also part of the schedule that we are now finding ourselves in this situation and now we can only pray he [Rashford] is not dropping off."