Seven Manchester United players - Anthony Elanga, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Scott McTominay, Fred, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire - surrounded the referee Peter Bankes after the Brighton defender Lewis Dunk upended Elanga on Tuesday night.
It is hardly a line-up as nefarious as in The Usual Suspects and Fernandes was booked for his protests. Bankes flourished a yellow card and a disgruntled Ronaldo accidentally barged into Dunk.
As soon as the Video Assistant Referee Jarred Gillett advised Bankes to consult the pitchside monitor Dunk might as well have started walking towards the tunnel. By the time Bankes had finished his check, Dunk could have already been in the bath had he not waited for the inevitable.
The Football Association charged United on Wednesday for a breach of FA Rule E20.1, stating 'it is alleged that Manchester United FC failed to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during the 53rd minute, and the club has until Monday to provide a response'. The most surprising detail in the statement is the FA recognises United as a football club more than the club itself.
Already, one newspaper has dusted off the mirror image of United players intimidating Andy D'Urso. D'Urso had the gall to award Middlesbrough a penalty at Old Trafford in January 2000 during a period where an opposition side did not score a league penalty at the stadium for 10-and-a-half years.
Roy Keane's vein appears as though it is going to burst and Jaap Stam looks as though he is about to bite D'Urso's head off. D'Urso pointed to the spot as he was approaching the area and backtracked so far he ended up at the north-west corner flag.
Keane conceded his conduct was unedifying. Sir Alex Ferguson practically pioneered referee intimidation but called a summit and demanded the players not behave as uncontrollably again.
What was critically overlooked amid the D'Urso furore was his decision was egregious. The direction of the ball indicated Stam clearly got it with his sliding tackle on Juninho and United's only means of overturning the call was to erupt at D'Urso. Juninho's penalty was palmed away by Mark Bosnich anyway.
Bankes also erred. The instant gut reaction was Elanga would have had a goalscoring opportunity and Dunk's foul was cynical and deliberate. It was not a clear-cut decision and the use of VAR was sensible in that the officials just about concluded correctly.
Should Lewis Dunk have seen red? pic.twitter.com/SzdVq8ZgBb
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL)
You could not blame the Brighton manager Graham Potter for suggesting it was a yellow card, either. Adam Webster was nearby and already in close proximity to Elanga.
It was not a flashpoint to condemn or condone the United players' behaviour. Only at the weekend, Paul Scholes accused them of 'not wanting to put a shift in' and Ralf Rangnick remarked after the Southampton draw United needed to be 'more nasty'. The Sunday back pages screamed 'SHIRKERS', 'STOP BEING SAINTS', 'MAN UP' and 'NASTY NICK'.
When Roberto Firmino curled one in past David de Gea seconds after Virgil van Dijk had vied with the United 'keeper in an aerial duel, De Gea snapped and stormed towards the referee Craig Pawson. Fred and Andreas Pereira were also under Pawson's nose, while Maguire, Shaw and Victor Lindelof were nearby. De Gea was booked.
The VAR reviewed Van Dijk's challenge and decided it was a foul when it was dubious. Gary Neville, on co-commentary at Anfield, described the call 'soft'. If United had meekly accepted they were 2-0 down and not remonstrated, there is no way VAR would have intervened.
Evidently, the system can be manipulated and, three days after their manager and one of the club's greatest questioned the team's desire whilst in the midst of a three-game winless run, the United players demonstrated, no, they are not always a bunch of shrinking violets. Supporters have complained Maguire does not influence referees as cannily as his peers, such as the chippy Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer advised the United players to be 'more streetwise' last year after encountering Bankes and Wayne Rooney says in his new documentary: "I'd cheat to win for that club." The current lot did not stray anywhere near that line but any remote comparison to Keane and Stam is a progressive step.
