UPDATE: Neil Custis of The Sun, the journalist that Louis van Gaal called a “fat man,” makes his public response.
Custis spoke about a recent knee operation which had led to him gaining weight.
He said: “You are right Louis I am fat. I had a knee operation four months ago that stopped me running and going to the gym.”
‘That has resulted in me putting on nearly two stone.”
“But I am trying to get it all off by having a dry January and calm February and a personal trainer.”
“At least I can hold my hand up to my own failings. Shame others can’t.”
You already know that Manchester United Louis van Gaal sometimes has an adversarial relationship with the media. You don’t need to work in the sports media industry to see it. It’s plenty obvious in his interviews. The obesity rate within the sports media profession is very high. At least very much so within the media corps I work with.
That said, I don’t believe in pointing out anyone else’s corpulence within a news conference setting. That’s just classless. Totally bad form.
However, that’s exactly what Van Gaal did here because he didn’t care for this specific writer being so harsh on Wayne Rooney in the past.
Watch the video below as Van Gaal exits stage left, but then stops, pauses, turns around and goes out of his way to tell a journo “you, fat man.”
Here’s the full quote transcribed for you:
Full Van Gaal exchange (on picture) where he calls reporter "Fat man" after asking about Rooney
Video via SNTV/AP. pic.twitter.com/5KcYIJiAd0— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) January 13, 2016
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. The website is also featured on News Now.
Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye. He also appears regularly on numerous television and radio talk shows all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.