Charlie McNeill has insisted his comments were not meant to be disrespectful.
Manchester United youngster Charlie McNeill has apologised for comments made during an interview about the prospect of facing Liverpool Under-18s, insisting he did not intend to be disrespectful by saying “it would be good to rub it in their faces” if they knocked them out of the FA Youth Cup.
The 17-year-old had scored for United’s U-18s in their meeting with Salford City on Wednesday, helping them to a 2-0 win.
United will now face either Liverpool or Sutton United in the next round, something which McNeill was asked about in a post-match interview with United’s in-house media channel.
“We will look to go all the way in this competition and next round we will play Liverpool if they win, which is obviously a derby and an amazing game to play in,” he said.
“It’s a derby like I said and it would be great to win that game and rub it in their faces as well.”
ACADEMY NEWS: Post match interview with Charlie McNeill…confident lad! pic.twitter.com/TmlTTEtVVX
— The MUFC Academy 🥇🔴⚪️⚫️🐝🍷 (@mrmujac) March 10, 2021
In the time since, McNeill has issued an apology on social media, with some reports saying he had been “forced” to do so.
“I just wanted to say my interview last night I said a thing I probably shouldn’t have said and I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to anyone,” he post on Instagram reads.
“I have learnt from my mistake and will take this on into the future.”
McNeill is one of the most highly regarded players at United having joined the club from Manchester City’s academy setup. He scored four goals against City earlier this year, after a bizarre incident saw City’s defenders allow him a free run at goal.
