Security needs to be tightened around Manchester United following a bug was discovered in the team’s dressing room at Villa Park.
The Reds travelled to face Aston Villa before the October international break, with the hosts going into the game as favourites following an impressive start to the 2024/25 season.
There was a bizarre security breach at Villa Park because a recording device was found in the dressing room after the match, picking up quotes from Ten and his players before the match, at half-time and full-time.
According to The Sun, Ten Hag’s team talk was ‘clearly’ heard by the prankster in question, with the device found taped out of sight in the United dressing room.
It is also suggested that the prankster returned to collect the device from Villa Park a week after the match was played.
The device is believed to be a phone from China that has a setting where its microphone can be remotely activated by calling from another device.
Aston Villa now find themselves at the centre of an investigation over security breaches.
The source told The Sun: “Serious questions will be asked as to how this was allowed to happen. Fortunately, there was nothing sinister to this incident.
“It was just a prankster, who’s actually a United fan, being silly and wanting to hear what was said inside those four walls.”
The source added: “But it will definitely be a cause for concern about how they managed to get inside a changing room at a Premier League ground in the lead up to such a big match.”
Manchester United fan should know better
The source says there is nothing sinister about what happened at Villa Park, but I tend to disagree since it was a United fan looking to set up his own team.
What information does that ‘supporter’ need from those recordings? That answer is none.
The danger is what he/she will do with the recordings next. Perhaps sell it to The Sun as they’ve done with the initial story?
I’d like to see proof of whether it was a United fan or someone on a wind up.
Dressing room and related security has concerned me for some time. Audio bugs are an obvious threat, but there’s also the potential for tampering with water/drinks either in the dressing room or supply chain. There are several drugs that wear off or break down quickly (and are thus likely to evade detection later) but could subtly impede performance – enough for players to have an ‘off day’. It was once infamous in horse racing to nobble the competition.
There is so much money in sports betting that anything is possible, IMHO. As Dale points out, there’s even enough money in sports media to stimulate some of this kind of activity.
Just to clarify: I’m not saying this is happening, or trying to deflect attention from other issues at the club, but it’s a risk that I hope the club has been addressing or will address.
(In my own work – I’m not going to reveal what that is – I’ve encountered cases where a drug was illegally administered in the workplace with a view to discrediting the victims and getting them fired. You wouldn’t believe it if you didn’t see it with your own eyes.)