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23rd July 2023
12:12pm BST
An MUTV commentator has been criticised for his "distasteful" comments about Arsenal midfielder Kai Havertz after saying he was "rubbish" live on air.
Manchester United faced Arsenal in New Jersey as part of their pre-season preparations, with Erik ten Hag's side running out as 2-0 winners.
Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho scored for United however it was commentator Ben Thornley's comments about Havertz that took the limelight.
With United 2-0 up in the 48th minute, the former winger said he would've taken the German off earlier because he was "rubbish".
Co-commentator Stewart Gardner then asked, "What have you got against Kai Havertz?"
Many reacted to the clip on social media and felt that Thornley's comments were unacceptable.
One person tweeted: "Very unprofessional."
A second said: "I’m not a Havertz fan but that’s utterly distasteful and unprofessional from those commentators,"
"MUTV commentators have really been unprofessional. The Havertz comments were unnecessary," wrote a third.
Arsenal's decision to spend £65m on Havertz has been questioned by some, including Graeme Souness, who was particularly critical.
"I don’t think anyone would have spent £65m for Kai Havertz based on what we’ve seen from him over the last couple of years at Chelsea," he told the Sky Bet Fan Hope Survey,
"Mikel Arteta must feel that he can improve Havertz because he wasn’t a £65m player last year.
"Maybe I’m being tough on him because he was in a struggling Chelsea team, but good players still turn up whether their team is struggling or not."
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