Erik ten Hag didn't sound like a Manchester United manager with bizarre claim after FA Cup win

"It's like a curse against us," claimed Erik ten Hag in the aftermath of one of the most bizarre FA Cup semi-finals the Wembley arch has ever seen. It's certainly felt like there is a curse on Manchester United this season, but on this occasion Ten Hag was complaining about the number of penalty decisions that go against his team.

His ire on Sunday was at the fact that Aaron Wan-Bissaka was penalised for handball in injury time of normal time, but when United appealed for a handball of their own in extra time, they didn't get the decision.

"At 3-3 it’s crazy that decision. Then we should get a penalty to make it 4-3, that was more a handball than the penalty we conceded," said Ten Hag, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

This is an approach we've got used to now. Ten Hag believes every marginal call should fall United's way and maybe that could be portrayed as a positive, but at some point, some self-awareness is required. The penalty call on Wan-Bissaka was probably a little harsh. The claim for handball against a Coventry City defender marking Rasmus Hojlund at a corner was sheer desperation and a classic diversionary tactic.

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It happened amid the chaos of extra-time and was waved away by the VAR so quickly I didn't even get to make a note of which Coventry player it was. While the arm was outstretched as he jumped, the ball clearly hit the top of his sleeve shirt or his shoulder. The rules couldn't be clearer on that.

It was such a moment of controversy that the official Manchester United website didn't mention it in their match report or their live blog of the game. That