Jesse Lingard apologises for ‘totally unacceptable’ tweet during Munich air disaster service
Manchester United star claims a member of his social media team sent out the message on his Twitter account while he was at Old Trafford
Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard has apologised after claiming a tweet was mistakenly sent from his account during Tuesday’s memorial service marking the 60th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.
Lingard was among the United squad present at Old Trafford to commemorate the crash which killed 23 people, including eight players from the club’s young 1958 “Busby Babes” team.
Just three minutes after a minute’s silence had been held at the stadium. a reply was sent from his Twitter account to a question about him playing the “Fifa 18” video game with United striker Marcus Rashford, saying: “Your [sic] not ready for me”.
Lingard attracted criticism from United fans for the tweet but later posted an apology.
“A member of my media team inadvertently replied to a tweet this afternoon on my Twitter profile during the Munich memorial service at Old Trafford,” he wrote.
“I was unaware as I was attending the service at the time, and don’t condone the post or the timing in any way.
“The post has now been deleted and I’d like to apologise for any upset caused, this is totally unacceptable and does not reflect my personality or views on this emotional day.”
There were more than 4,500 fans present amid snow flurries at Old Trafford to pay their respects along with current and former players and managers.
United’s legendary manager Alex Ferguson read a passage from the Bible, while current boss Jose Mourinho laid a wreath with club captain Michael Carrick.
Former players Bobby Charlton and Harry Gregg were also present to pay tribute after surviving the 1958 crash that ripped the heart out of the “Busby Babes” team.
Old Trafford fell silent at 3.04pm GMT to mark the time of the crash on an icy runway in Germany, where Matt Busby’s young side had been travelling back via Munich from a match in Belgrade on February 6, 1958.
United were celebrating reaching the European Cup semifinals but their plane crashed on its third take-off attempt.
Three members of the club’s staff were also killed in the crash, as well as eight journalists, while there were 21 survivors.
