- United reportedly canceled the dinner for the second time in three years.
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Manchester United have reportedly canceled their end-of-season awards lunch, originally scheduled for May 20.
The club claim it is because they do not want to distract the players before the FA Cup final against Manchester City five days later.
In a tradition that dates back more than a decade, United typically present awards to players from its men’s, women’s and academy teams at a gala evening.
That includes the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award, previously won by Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane.
However, the ceremony will not take place after Erik ten Hag and the management were consulted, according to reports The Athletic.
Manchester United’s end-of-season awards ceremony reportedly canceled
Erik ten Hag and the club management do not want the players to be distracted before the FA Cup final
The awards ceremony has a tradition that goes back more than a decade but was also canceled in 2022
It’s the second time in three years that the Red Devils have canceled the back-slapping spree.
The players requested that the ceremony be canceled after the 2021/22 season, in which United finished sixth in the Premier League.
Ten Hag’s men are on course for the worst result in the club’s Premier League history as they sit in eighth place, having won one of their last eight league games.
Awards will still be voted on and awarded among players, but there will be no meeting dedicated to them.
That’s despite the success of the women’s team, who lifted the FA Cup on Sunday thanks to a 4-0 victory over Tottenham.
It’s also a shame that United’s ‘goal of the season’ doesn’t get any applause as the pitch is packed.
Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Diogo Dalot and Rasmus Hojlund might have imagined they would receive a chorus of cheers in that category.
While the women’s team had everything to celebrate at Wembley, Sunday was a stormy day for the men’s team at Old Trafford.
Players will still vote and receive awards, but there will be no ceremony to celebrate them.
The women’s team won the FA Cup final against Tottenham on Sunday in a 4-0 rout at Wembley.
The men’s team suffered a miserable 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in biblical rain and are on course for the club’s worst result in the Premier League.
Arsenal have taken the title race against Manchester City until the last day of the season
They succumbed 1-0 to Arsenal following a Leandro Trossard goal, although much attention was paid to the stadium’s apparent inability to cope with the weather.
The away dressing room was flooded as a deluge of rain cascaded into one corner of the pitch due to a leak in the roof, with a torrent falling beneath the seats.
“Old Trafford is falling,” Arsenal fans chanted.
