Why Ed Sheeran apologized to Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim

Ed Sheeran has apologized to new Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim for interrupting his post-match interview following Sunday's draw at Ipswich Town.

Sheeran, 33, said he had planned to greet Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp and was not aware Amorim was being interviewed at the time when the British broadcaster interrupted him midway through the on-pitch discussion.

The singer-songwriter is a sponsor and minority shareholder of the club from his hometown of Ipswich and celebrated the promoted team's 1-1 draw against United.

He was criticized on social media after the incident, but issued a statement explaining that his interruption was an accident.

“Apologies if I offended Amorim yesterday, I didn't realize he was being interviewed at the time and came over to say hello and goodbye to Jamie,” Sheeran wrote on social media. “Obvz I feel a bit a******, but life goes on. Great game, congratulations to everyone involved x”.

What happened?

(Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

After overseeing a 1–1 draw in his debut match in charge, Amorim gave his first post-match interview to Sky Sports, the Premier League's main British broadcaster, as United's head coach.

The 39-year-old was asked by pundit Izzy Christiansen what had impressed him most about his new players during training ahead of Sunday's match and what he wanted to take away from the match.

“You start to discover things: Garnacho can keep the ball between the lines,” Amorim replied. “You can see that in the game, because the game is always open. You try to find these things. Bruno Fernandes, he improved his game by playing close to the ball and feeling the ball. He can sometimes give us the long pass. But you can't put him there all the time because he wants the long stride.

He concluded: “We try to find things about the players. We will need a lot of time, a lot of time to work these things out.”

As host Kelly Cates began asking the next question, the camera panned to Sheeran greeting Redknapp.

“Ed Sheeran has joined us,” Cates said. “Ed, we're just talking to Ruben Amorim, who might not want to talk to an Ipswich fan.”

'I don't think he wants to talk to me. He doesn't want to talk to me,” Sheeran said.

Ed Sheeran crashed during Ruben Amorim's first post-match interview 😂 pic.twitter.com/cTSMgyTE8w

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 24, 2024

Cates tried to keep Sheeran's appearance short and sweet, saying: “From an Ipswich point of view it was almost perfect?”

“I loved it, I love being back in the Premier League,” Sheeran replied.

Redknapp then promised to speak to Sheeran later, who left the pitchside counter and left out of harm's way.

“Thank you very much Ed. Ruben, it's unpredictable when we're on the field,” Cates explained before resuming the post-match interview.

Sheeran was subsequently branded 'rude' and 'disrespectful' on social media, with Sky also facing criticism following the incident.

Why was Sheeran at the match?

Sheeran grew up in Suffolk and is a boyhood Ipswich fan. Since the 2021-2022 season, he has been the club's shirt sponsor, with the club in League One. This was welcomed by supporters as the club was previously sponsored by gambling company Magical Vegas and former owner Marcus Evans.

Ipswich have since enjoyed successive promotions under Kieran McKenna and secured a return to the Premier League in May after a 22-year absence.

Sheeran designed the club's third kit for the 2021-2022 season and appeared in the promotional video for the third strip this season.

In August it was announced that the four-time Grammy Award winner had purchased a minority stake in the club, and he is regularly pictured at matches.

“I have lived in Suffolk since I was three years old and although I travel the world and sometimes feel like an outsider in the big cities, Suffolk and Ipswich have always made me feel part of the community and protected,” Sheeran said this summer.

TNT Sports conducted an interview with Sheeran and Peter Crouch ahead of Ipswich's opening game of the Premier League season against Liverpool, and he was photographed greeting the Sky Sports pundit team in the studio ahead of Sunday's match against United.

Ipswich have won just one of their opening 12 games and are among the favorites for relegation this season, but secured a 1-1 draw with United after scoring in the opening two minutes.

(Top photo: Stephen Pond/Getty Images)