Manchester United praise Marouane Fellaini despite not playing for Belgium - and receive the full Twitter treatment
Fellaini failed to play a minute of Belgium's 4-1 victory over Andorra that sealed their place at Euro 2016
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United’s social media team found out the hard way that congratulating their players for international success isn’t always a wise idea after they were relentlessly mocked for praising Marouane Fellaini.
The Belgian was sent a tweet by United’s official Twitter account congratulating him after Belgium booked their place in the 2016 European Championships with a 4-1 victory over Andorra.
The problem? Fellaini sat on the substitutes’ bench for the duration of the match, and Twitter users couldn’t wait to tear into United for what was perceived to be a ridiculous message to one of their players.
From the plain and obvious responses that highlighted Fellaini's absence from the action to the more creative users pointing out similar scenarios and some simply hilarious jokes, United had to face them all. Even better was the fact that Fellaini was tagged into the bulk of replies, and the image of him scrolling through the replies as we did is funnier than the initial tweet.
Here's a few of our favourite responses:
Of course, United were congratulating the midfielder on a successful campaign rather than just the solo performance, and the 27-year-old has actually contributed considerably their Euro 2016 qualifier campaign.
Fellaini netted four times in seven matches – his goals coming against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel and twice against Cyrpus – while he also added two more goals in a friendly victory over France earlier this year.
Having struggled to impress at Old Trafford when he was brought in under David Moyes, Fellaini faced strong negativity from United fans during his debut season with the club, but a return to form during the 2014/15 campaign as Louis van Gaal pushed him forward help structure a bond with the United faithful.
While it hasn’t been helpful, it’s unlikely that United’s misinterpreted tweet will cost Fellaini any fans.
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