Former Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers striker, Alan Shearer, has publicly apologized to Super Eagles defender, Calvin Bassey, after the man-of-the-match debacle in Fulham’s win over Manchester United, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 25-year-old’s performance against the Red Devils was one that’ll be remembered for ages. The Nigerian was rock solid at the back and threatened in attack, scoring the opening goal in front of the Stretford End at Old Trafford.
Fulham nicked a 4-3 win against the home side on penalties, but Shearer gave the man of the match award to Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, and that didn’t go down well with Bassey.
Shearer, in response to Bassey’s tweet, apologized to the Fulham defender while clarifying the reason he opted for Bruno Fernandes.
“I thought Calvin Bassey was very good. The problem is with the man of the match, you’ve got to say it five minutes before the end. I’m thinking, ‘What do I do?’ I’ve got to give it before the penalties.
“So, I just thought Bruno’s got Man United back into the game with the one piece of quality that they needed. It was him who dragged them [into it] and was playing all these probing passes, but, if I could’ve waited until after the penalties, then it might have gone to Leno, and it perhaps should have gone to Calvin Bassey, who I thought was absolutely superb at centre-half,” the one-time English Premier League winner said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
When Shearer deliberated if players care about the Man of the Match awards, Micah Richards argued that defenders are often overlooked for accolades and felt the Fulham man deserved more recognition.
“I send my apologies to Calvin Bassey, then. He should’ve been the man of the match. There you go. I’ve already said, haven’t I, if it could’ve been given after penalties, it was either going to be [Bassey] or Bernd Leno because [Leno] pulled one great save off and obviously made the two penalty saves in the shootout.
“If it could’ve been after the penalties, then it would either have been him or Bernd Leno if we’d known they’d gone through. So, apologies, Calvin! I’ll give you it next time.”
Fulham will welcome Crystal Palace to the Craven Cottage in their FA Cup quarter-final towards the end of the month. Meanwhile, Marco Silva’s side sits in 9th on the Premier League table and are firmly in the hunt for European football, as reiterated by Iwobi.
