One Direction are to blame for Manchester United having to play on a poor pitch, claims brave Louis van Gaal as he takes on Directioners

The Manchester United manager was far from happy with a One Direction concert in Seattle

One Direction pose with a Manchester United shirt (Getty Images)

Louis van Gaal has done what you simply don’t do – he's blamed One Direction for something.

Directioners worldwide will be eagerly scanning the Twitter waves to search for Van Gaal’s profile and send a barrage of abuse his way for daring to say something negative about the four-piece boy band.

The Manchester United manager was fuming about One Direction’s impact on his side’s pre-season friendly with Club America on Friday night because of the state of the pitch. So have Louis, Niall, Harry and Liam taken up new jobs as groundsmen at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field?

No, they simply played a concert two days before the match at the home of the NFL side Seattle Seahawks.

“The pitch was not good,” said Van Gaal, just easing into his criticism. “It was difficult.

“The first surface was artificial and it had grass over it. It was always moving. It's not easy. You can get injuries. It's a big concern. It was like that last season against Real Madrid in Michigan. It's like this in the USA. These pitches are used for different things

Van Gaal speaks with Ryan Giggs as the United staff walk off the pitch (Getty Images)

“Old Trafford is used for football only, not One Direction concerts. Here its used for entertainment things. The facilities generally are fantastic. They could not be better.

“We have been received very well by Seattle Seahawks and the football club. Everyone is fantastic. But we have to play football on such a pitch. We could not do that and that's important.”

Fair play, Louis. But don’t expect an invitation to a One Direction gig anytime soon. Maybe he's just still upset that Zayn left.