Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has defended his players against criticism over alleged diving, as the war of words heats up before this evening's FA Cup semi-final.
The Norwegian takes his team to Wembley to take on Chelsea, with the winners set to take on Arsenal in the Cup decider after the Gunners' 2-0 win over Manchester City yesterday.
In advance of the game, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard singled out Portuguese star Bruno Fernandes for attention.
"Fernandes is very clever in his movement. We saw that at Aston Villa to make something feel like a penalty where maybe it even isn't.
"As a player we can talk about VAR decisions and whether they're right or wrong. But if a player is going to dangle a leg and not move their feet then you obviously do leave yourself open to penalties, VAR or no VAR."
Solskjaer has hit back, saying he just wants his players to be protected.
"I'll defend my players 100%.
Brush up on all the stats and facts about @ManUtd and @ChelseaFC before they face each other in the #EmiratesFACup semi-finals
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) July 19, 2020
"Some ankles could have been broken this season. I just want them to be protected.
"If you've got quick feet like Dan James, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood you'll get tackled outside and inside the box.
"We've earned our right to any decision this season. We've had decisions overturned from being against us to being for us which means the initial decision was against us.
"It's up to the referee but there's too many people talking and trying to influence people, I don't want to. VAR is there to help get more correct decisions.
"I've always said a factual decision is a fact so one centimetre or one metre offside you're offside that's just how it is in football now."
Solskjaer added that trophies like the FA Cup and Europa League are what fans and players alike demand at a club of United's stature.
"When you are at United, yes, you need to win trophies. That's what we've done in our history, and we want to win trophies playing the right way.
"We've had some great games against Chelsea over the years; this is the fourth year running we've played them in the cup so hopefully it will be an exciting game."
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