MUFC's dressing room during the 0-0 draw at Aston Villa was bugged. Never thought I'd be saying something like that 😳.
The Sun say that a prankster tricked the staff at Villa Park into allowing him to plant a hidden device in the dressing room just two days before the match.
This hidden device picked up some of the things Erik ten Hag said both at halftime and full time. Those team talks would've been all important considering the predicament he was in.
Why this news is only coming out now is because the prankster - who's identity is not revealed - came back on Monday, a day after the game, to collect his device.
This device is said to be Chinese which has a setting that allows you to activate it remotely when you call it from another device.
The Sun say that "serious questions will be asked" about how this was allowed to occur although they also say that "there was nothing sinister" about this prank.
However, a source told The Sun that the prankster is actually a United fan! “It was just a prankster, who’s actually a United fan, being silly and wanting to hear what was said inside those four walls.”
The Sun also say that they are choosing not to publish what was said by ten Hag in the dressing room.
Final Thoughts
I guess it would be interesting to want to know what ten Hag was saying in what could've been his final game in charge but this isn't the way to do it and for it to be a United fan as well makes it worse.
No fan of ours (or any other club) should be doing something like this as it is an invasion of privacy. The whole point of them going into a room to talk is to keep whatever is said to themselves otherwise they may as well stay on the pitch and discuss their team talks.
How this happened in the first place at all is the question.
For Villa to allow something like this to occur makes them appear silly even if in the end it was harmful.
How did they let a stranger coax them into doing this? Pretty ridiculous.
Still though, would've been interesting to hear what ten Hag had to say. It could've given us an insight into what his team talks are like and give us a reason as to why we may see the performances we do.
This sort of thing will be introduced into the league next season though. It won't be a prankster hiding a device but there are three new rules that each PL club will have to choose from to conduct on each matchday:
- Halftime interview with player or coach
- Interviews for players who are subbed off
- Dressing room broadcasts
via Sam C on X (@SamC_reports).
So in a way, this prankster was sort of jumping the gun on this even if it was illegal.
Background Image: Erik ten Hag's dressing room was bugged at Villa Park | Creator: Carl Recine | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2024 Getty Images via Goal