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Football

26th Nov 2022

Man United youngster causes scrap from the bench after throwing ball at Australia player

Simon Lloyd

Plenty of time for this nonsense

Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri nearly sparked a scrap from the bench during Tunisia’s loss to Australia on Saturday as he threw a ball at Mitchell Duke’s head while he lay on the floor.

Duke’s excellent glancing header had given Australia the lead after 23 minutes, marking the moment with a wholesome moment with his young son.

Minutes later, though, after the Australian had gone DOWN UNDER (sorry) a challenge from a Tunisian opponent, the amount of time Duke had taken to get back to his feet had irritated Hannibal, who watched on from close to the bench.

With cameras zooming in on Duke as he lay on the floor, the teenager was seen throwing a ball at his head. His aim was perfect.

Several Australians immediately rushed towards Hannibal, who is currently on loan in the Championship with Birmingham City, with a number of Tunisia’s bench forced to intervene.

Fortunately, the situation was quickly defused.

Hannibal was given one of his first appearances for the United senior team at Anfield at the end of last season, where he quickly proceeded to put a number of strong challenges in.

His hotheaded nature also surfaced in Birmingham’s recent Championship game with QPR. Manager John Eustace had substituted him early in the second half after growing concerned he would receive a red card in the game.

Hannibal didn’t leave the bench during Tunisa’s second game, with the defeat meaning the north African nation are now likely to bow out of the World Cup at the group stage – despite a hard-earned draw in their opening game with Denmark.

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