Manchester United 24-year-old player Antony break silence and reveals the hidden reason for his cupped ears gesture after FA Cup semi-final win at Wembley vs Coventry City

Antony has talked about why he cupped his ears after Man United beat Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Antony said he was “defending his club” when he cupped his ears and turned to face the Coventry City players after Manchester United won the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.

With a 4–2 win on penalties, United made it to their second straight FA Cup final. Rasmus Hojlund scored the last-second penalty that made it an all-Manchester final for the second year in a row.

United was ahead 3-0 with 20 minutes left in regular time, but they gave up in a big way, letting Coventry score three goals and send the game to extra time. The Sky Blues thought they had won in the last few seconds of extra time, but Victor Torp’s goal was called off because he was offside during the buildup.

United won the game with a penalty kick, but their win felt very hollow because they had to work so hard to get it. Everyone has said bad things about Antony’s choice to cup his ears and make fun of the Coventry players, but everyone has said good things about Harry Maguire’s choice to shake hands with the Coventry players.

Antony agreed with United boss Erik ten Hag that he was “provoked” during the shootout in a social media post that was made just hours after ten Hag said this.

Antony wrote on X, which used to be called Twitter, “Coventry proved why they got to the semi-final.” For our fans’ sake, we worked hard to get this spot in the final.

“The way our fans were treated by their player was not nice and I, in the heat of the moment, I’ve reacted to the provocations in a natural defence of my club!”

Ten Hag said this before Wednesday night’s Premier League game against Sheffield United: “Did you see how Harry Maguire reacted?” Antony was sparked, which is why this was his response. You haven’t seen the spark, only the response. He shouldn’t do it, though.

“I saw Harry Maguire right after that and other people.” We should praise Coventry’s work for making it to the final and then coming back. After 70 minutes, we have a huge lead in the game and are making a lot of chances. At 3-0, it looked like the game was over, but their comeback was very good.

Coventry proved why they reached the semi-final. We seeked this spot in the final for our fans and we achieved. The way our fans were treated by their player was not nice and I, in the heat of the moment, i’ve reacted to the provocations in a natural defense of my club! https://t.co/y3cz3UhzXf

— Antony Santos (@antony00) April 23, 2024