Eric Bailly and Juan Mata appear to break Jose Mourinho's new Manchester United social media rules
The Instagram post has since been deleted by the defender
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United defender Eric Bailly appears to have broken Jose Mourinho’s new social media ban.
Bailly uploaded a video to his Instagram account on Wednesday where he and Juan Mata were joking around with a ball at United’s Carrington training ground.
He has since deleted the post, which was published a little over 24 hours before the club’s crucial Europa League semi-final first-leg away to Celta Vigo – thus breaking Mourinho’s strict new rules.
Mata looked fully mobile despite not playing since March, while Bailly himself limped off against Swansea on Sunday.
The incident comes after The Independent revealed Mourinho’s crackdown on players’ social media use in the lead up to games. The new rules prohibit first-team players from publishing and pictures or videos from training or anything during the 48 hours leading up to a game.
Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard have all been rebuked recently and players have been made aware how their actions can paint the club in a bad light.
Lingard’s infamous Snapchat of United on their team bus while being held up in a ferocious atmosphere on the way to West Ham on the final game of last season caused a large amount of criticism, while Luke Shaw has also been guilty of crossing the line.
Assistant manager Rui Faria was furious at Shaw for publishing a video of himself training at home in November after Mourinho ruled him out of a trip to Swansea through injury – something which was seen as a dig at the former Chelsea boss.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments