Everton striker pokes fun at controversial Man Utd moment with 10-word post

Everton striker Neal Maupay has hit back at Manchester United attacker Antony after his poorly received celebrations during their FA Cup semi-final win.

Maupay, who is currently on loan at Brentford until the end of the season, has a reputation for his particular unique brand of ‘sportsmanship’ which we’ve seen across his time at Brighton, Everton and Brentford. He was involved in a heated exchange with Manchester City’s Kyle Walker earlier this season as he left the defender incensed over alleged comments over his family - Maupay then passionately denied such claims saying 'I didn't think I should have to defend myself for something I didn't do’.

As always with players who engage in the dark arts of football, there’s a fine line between what is allowed and what is isn’t tolerated by the fans. Diego Costa, Wayne Rooney, Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo are just a few who have excelled at this in the past, but Man United’s Antony is one player who failed miserably as he was heavily criticised by pundits, ex-players and fans for cupping his ears to the Coventry team after United won on penalties at Wembley over the weekend.

United raced into a three-goal lead before Coventry mounted an improbable comeback which saw them draw level in added time. They were also the far better side in extra time and had a goal ruled out for offside in the 120th minute as VAR intervened to rule out Victor Torp’s strike but replays have shown it be a very contentious decision.

For Antony, it was certainly a move that was in poor taste; especially given half the United team went to consolidate the Championship outfit, with Harry Maguire taking the time to shake the hand of each and every player in Sky Blue as he demonstrated class in the face of ridiculousness from the £85m flop who has 10 goals in 78 games. Maupay took to X today to poke fun at the incident, as he condemned the Brazilian’s actions with a tongue-in-cheek comment: ‘Just for the record, not even I would do this’.

In terms of Maupay, he is set to return to the club at the end of the season. After a disappointing debut season at Everton which saw him net just one goal, he began the 2023/24 campaign in dire form, missing chances in their opening game of the season before moving to former club Brentford on loan. Since then, he’s managed to find the net eight times and provide four assists in a welcome return to form but his future looks set to be away from Goodison Park after the signings of Beto and Youssef Chermiti.