Erik ten Hag gave downtrodden Manchester United supporters a brief moment of humour yesterday, after ignoring TV presenter Laura Woods’ offer of a handshake after an interview.
The manager had been speaking to Woods, presenter for TNT Sports, following his team’s dramatic Champions League victory over Copenhagen.
But the interview became awkward as Woods tried to round it off, offering Ten Hag a handshake.
The Dutchman, seemingly oblivious, turned to co-presenters Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand and shook their hands instead.
Woods, shocked, turned towards the camera and shook her hand in the air – but fortunately, ten Hag returned to shake her hand too, sparing everybody’s blushes.
Scholes said she had been “pied completely.”
And retweeting the incident after the show, Woods posted three pie emojis on X/Twitter.
Meanwhile, on Instagram, she commented on TNT’s clip of the ‘pie’, saying: “Crushing”.
Ten Hag’s Manchester United team overcame a shaky run of form in recent weeks to squeak past Copenhagen at Old Trafford.
Harry Maguire scored the only goal of the game after 72 minutes, but fans had their hearts in their mouths after the Danish team won a penalty with minutes left in the game.
But Andre Onana saved it, securing a win as Manchester United paid tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton, who died on Saturday aged 86.
The legendary England footballer was part of the team that won the 1966 World Cup and spent most of his club football career at Manchester United. He is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time.
His family said: “It is with great sadness that we share the news that Sir Bobby passed peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning.
“He was surrounded by his family. His family would like to pass on their thanks to everyone who has contributed to his care and for the many people who have loved and supported him.”
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.