‘It cost us
the game!’
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has hit out at
Angel di Maria after the record signing was sent off for grabbing referee
Michael Oliver's shirt in Monday’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat
to Arsenal.
Danny Welbeck scored
the winner against his former side to seal a 2-1 win at Old Trafford, which sets up a semi-final meeting with either Reading or Bradford at
Wembley.
But one of the main talking points from the lively encounter
was the latest episode in what has been a largely disappointing start to Di
Maria's career at Old Trafford, when he was shown two yellow cards in a matter
of seconds.
After being cautioned for simulation, the World Cup winner
protested to referee Oliver and grabbed the back of his shirt, before yelling
at the official when he had turned his back on him.
Replays showed the first booking on Di Maria was harsh and Aaron Ramsey had pulled the player back, but the
£59.7million man's actions deserved sanction, according to Van Gaal, adding
that his side had no chance of turning around the tie after going a man down.
"I think he's touched the referee and that's forbidden
in every country, so he has no excuses," the disappointed Dutchman said.
"In Spain he knows that he doesn't touch the referee,
but that is also in his emotion as a human being.
"I've already spoken with him, he knows my opinion but
also I have to see on the video.
“The difference between the teams until that moment was
marginal, so when you have a red card you know it will be awfully difficult to
equalise or to win.
“We gave it [the game] away. That’s the most disappointing
aspect of this game - we didn’t lose because of our opponents, we lost because
of ourselves.”
Di Maria actually started the game reasonably well, setting Wayne Rooney up for his equalising goal with a
wonderful curling cross to cancel out Nacho Monreal’s opener.
But his dismissal clearly angered his manager and the player
himself, who refused requests for an interview post-match.
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