Antony claims he was DEFENDING Man Utd fans in 'horrible' Coventry celebration

Manchester United qualified for the FA Cup final in somewhat lacklustre fashion. They eliminated Championship side Coventry City via a penalty shoot-out, which speaks volumes about the Championship side's ability to push a Premier League team to the limit. In fact, the Red Devils were leading 3-0 before conceding three goals to be forced into extra time and a penalty shoot-out.

The spot-kicks went in Erik ten Hag's side's favour and they celebrated soberly, minus Antony. The Brazilian turned around as he sprinted towards Rasmus Hojlund, the scorer, and held his hands to his ears, looking at his opponents in a gesture that earned him plenty of criticism on social media. Harry Maguire contrasted by shaking hands with his opponents one by one.

The former Ajax player, in view of the controversy, spoke out on his own profiles to justify himself. He did not apologise: "Coventry proved why they reached the semi-final. We seeked this spot in the final for our fans and we achieved. The way our fans were treated by their player was not nice and I, in the heat of the moment, I've reacted to the provocations in a natural defense of my club."

The player's explanations were prompted by a post in 'The United Stand', which echoed a statement made by Erik ten Hag at a press conference. The Dutch manager acknowledged that his player's attitude was not the best, but invited journalists to review Coventry's behaviour in the first leg. He also criticised the journalists for criticising the Sao Paulo youth player so much.