Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tells Man Utd players to make more fuss with referees

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has seen his players accept wrong decisions
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has seen his players accept wrong decisions / Pool/Getty Images
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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has urged his players to kick up more of a fuss when refereeing decisions go against them, lamenting that the group may currently be a little too ‘nice’ to compete for the highest honours.

It comes off the back of referee Peter Bankes admitting he made two major mistakes during last week’s shock defeat to Sheffield United. In one instance, a Blades goal was allowed to stand and in another a United goal was ruled out. Both should have been reversed.

Man Utd had a goal wrongly disallowed vs Sheffield Utd
Man Utd had a goal wrongly disallowed vs Sheffield Utd / Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

“Maybe we should have made more of a fuss about it. We are a bunch of nice lads,” Solskjaer said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

“Maybe we should have really hung on to that or made them look at it before the game started again. So those are things we have to learn from and use as motivation,” he added.

“You are not going to expect to get anything for free. There has been a narrative for too long about the decisions we have got for us. But I don't want my players to put unfair pressure on the referees. We leave them to it, that's their job.”

Solskjaer had earlier said that an official report the club had received confirmed that the referee believed in hindsight he had got both calls wrong.

A foul on David de Gea was missed when Sheffield Utd scored
A foul on David de Gea was missed when Sheffield Utd scored / Pool/Getty Images

“They've admitted their goal should have been disallowed and our goal should have stood,” the United boss lamented, having seen his team fall away from top spot as a result of the game.

During his own playing days at United, Solskjaer witnessed the likes of Roy Keane refusing to let anything go, while there was a competitive drive and a winning mentality throughout the squad that made every player fight for every inch and every decision.

The talent is there in the current United squad, but the mentality has to match it.


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