Man United Suffer Huge Blow Ahead Of Super Cup Clash Against Real Madrid
REUTERS/Robert Pratta
Manchester United defender Eric Bailly will miss the UEFA Super Cup Clash against European Champions Real Madrid, along with the Reds’ opening fixture of the Champions League, after UEFA hit the 23-year-old with an additional two-match ban.
Bailly was shown the red card just 3 minutes before the end of regulation time in Manchester United’s Europa League semi-final clash against La Liga side Celta Vigo in May, after he pushed his hand into John Guidetti’s face late in the game.
As a result the centre-back did not feature in the Red Devils’ win in the Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm, and now, he has been handed a further two-game suspension for his actions by the European governing body on Monday.
The statement released by UEFA’s Control, Ethics, and Disciplinary Board (CEDB) stated: “The CEDB has decided to suspend the Manchester United player Eric Bailly for three UEFA club competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible.”
Reuters / Phil Noble
The news may come as a shocker to United manager, Jose Mourinho, after he had claimed that Bailly was “phenomenal” in the match-up against Celta before he received the red card.
At the time, the Portuguese had stated: “I don’t know but I think it was with Roncaglia, right? Roncaglia’s not new in these kind of situations and probably Eric was a bit naive. We lose a very important player for the final and we don’t have many.”
Written by Sidharth Jindal 
Sports fanatic with a passion for writing (predominantly football) and “Wants to live life to its fullest.” Writes about the Premier League on his personal blog.