Pundit sticks up for Wout Weghorst for touching ‘This is Anfield’ sign

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Don Hutchison has stood up for Wout Weghorst over his conduct before Manchester United lost 7-0 at Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool posted footage on their official YouTube channel of Weghorst touching the ‘This is Anfield’ sign in the tunnel before walking out onto the pitch.

United players do not often do this and it is not a good look to be seen to show such affection towards our bitterest rivals.

The clip probably would not have been picked up on if United had won the game but on the back of such a bad defeat, it only increases the ire of some fans.

Don Hutchison sticks up for Wout Weghorst over ‘This is Anfield’ sign controversy

We wrote before the game that Weghorst had previously admitted to being a Liverpool fan as a kid, and stated Anfield would be the perfect venue for him to score his first Premier League goal, but it wasn’t to be.

As per TeamTalk, he said: “I still get goosebumps from ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. There are other great English clubs too, and I always liked Milan because so many Dutch played there.

“I am ambitious and want to get ahead. Maybe at some point play at another club, whether in Germany or in England? But at the moment it is still far away. I feel good and try to achieve the maximum here.”

In 2018, he also told De Telegraaf: “I’ve dreamt of [playing for Liverpool] since childhood.”

Hutchison took to Twitter to say that despite the animosity between the clubs, the incident had been blown out of proportion, and was ‘no big deal’.

His full tweet read: “I’ve seen loads stuff on here saying Weghorst should have his contact terminated and be sacked for touching the Anfield sign.

“Dear me, millions of away players have touched it out of a mark of respect (I’ve done it myself,.. not while playing for Everton tho), it’s no big deal.”

Weghorst’s commitment to United cannot be doubted. He works his socks off every game, even when fielded in an unfamiliar number ten role.

He was also the only United player to go over to the away fans after the humbling defeat, before Raphael Varane and Steve McClaren instructed others to follow.

What he did in the tunnel was not the smartest move, but what happened out on the pitch was far more important – and embarrassing – and needs to be put right, starting on Thursday against Real Betis at Old Trafford.