Revealed: Man United coach Darren Fletcher ‘had to be held back’ as he launched a string of f-word slurs at referee, as reasons behind his three-match ban are published
Darren Fletcher had to be ‘restrained’ by another Man United staff member, according to a match official, with the coach accused of hurling a series of insults at a referee.
Fletcher was handed a three-match ban and £7,500 fine last week for Football Association misconduct.
The sanction followed an angry half-time tirade against officials Brentford last month.
Fletcher had protested angrily at referee Samuel Barrott who forced Matthijs de Ligt off the pitch to receive treatment for a profusely bleeding head wound, with Brentford scoring from the resulting corner.
The Man United coach continued his protests in the tunnel at half-time against both Barrott and fourth official Gavin Ward.
The written reasons for Darren Fletcher’s three-match touchline ban have been revealed
Man United’s coaching team had protested at Matthijs de Ligt being forced off the field for treatment against Brentford, with the Bees scoring from a subsequent corner
The written reasons for Fletcher’s sanction have now been revealed by the Independent Regulatory Commission, with Barrott, Ward and the two assistant referees detailing Fletcher’s conduct.
‘After the half-time whistle and as I walked into the tunnel I was approached in an extremely aggressive manner by Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher, pointing and shouting at me: ‘You’re all f***ing s***, that It’s a damn joke, every damn week,” fourth official Ward told the Commission.
‘I asked him to calm down and emphasized that his behavior at this time was completely unacceptable.
‘He then had to be restrained by another member of staff as he tried to get closer to me. With that, I turned around and continued my way to the match officials’ locker room.
‘Once in the dressing room and when the other match officials arrived, I alerted them to Mr Fletcher’s behaviour.’
The Commission stated that it had reviewed video evidence from the tunnel of the incident, which stated that Fletcher “became agitated and began protesting at the Fourth Official, gesticulating with his hands, shouting and attempting to get closer to the Fourth Official in a confrontational situation. manner.
‘He is then stopped and pushed away by a colleague from Manchester United.’
The panel said that although there was no audio on the CCTV footage, it showed Fletcher ‘acting in a manner that we consider aggressive’.
Several United staff members were warned after De Ligt had to leave the field
Fletcher had apologized for his actions and claimed his reaction was caused by the goal, claiming he would have acted differently if he had had a period to calm down.
The Man United coach claimed his words were ‘critical of the process of managing the medical treatment of the specific footballer in this matter and referring to an incident in a previous home match where a red card was wrongly awarded at a similar stage of the match card was handed out’. to a Manchester United player.’
Fletcher’s good disciplinary record during his playing career and as a coach was noted by the Commission, but his other requests for restriction were denied.
The Commission found that the three-match touchline suspension was ‘a fair and reasonable sanction given the confrontational behavior shown on the video evidence and the fact that there was an opportunity to leave the protest to the fourth official, but Mr. Fletcher decided to continue.
Man United had come from behind to win 2-1 against Brentford in one of the final games of Erik ten Hag’s spell as manager.
Fletcher reportedly had to be restrained by staff as he continued his half-time protests
Fletcher was the first man of his sideline ban against Leicester last weekend, but he will remain suspended for Ruben Amorim’s first games against Ipswich and Everton.
During a 13-year playing career at Old Trafford, Fletcher made 342 appearances and scored 24 goals in all competitions for United.
In 2020, Fletcher returned to his boyhood club in a coaching role, and was later appointed technical director at the club before being replaced in the role by Jason Wilcox in April.
Fletcher’s twin sons are both part of United’s youth academy, with England youth international Jack on the bench against Brentford.