Manchester United Boss David Moyes Backs Ashley Young in Dive Row

David Moyes has leapt to the defence of Ashley Young in light of the dive furore that followed Manchester United’s draw with Real Sociedad in the Champions League in midweek.

Young has picked up an unwanted reputation for being a diver and Twitter was set alight after the England international tumbled to the floor to win a penalty against Sociedad.

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Ashley Young in training: pic.twitter.com/KsnZXNaSyM

— Luis Suarez (@Luis16saurez) November 5, 2013"

He was labelled "pathetic" by former Manchester United and England international Ray Wilkins is his role as a pundit for Sky Sports.

There were reports which suggested Red Devils boss Moyes would read the riot act to Young and warn him his United career was on the line.

But rather than taking the player to task, Moyes has pointed the finger of blame the way of referee Nicola Rizzoli, as reported by the Star's Jeremy Cross.

In the Cross piece, Moyes said: 

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I thought it looked a penalty kick. So I think the attention should be on the referee and not Ashley Young.

I think you should be saying the referee, who refereed the Champions League final, was two yards away from the incident.

The referee was as close as anyone could be and it was his choice to give the penalty kick.

If it was retrospective and they (the authorities) thought it was worth taking action then I’d be the first one to say ‘fine’ and if Manchester United found something happened in that way then we’d accept it.

But I think you’ve got it wrong. I don’t think it’s Ashley Young, I think it’s the referee.

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Moyes’ focus is shifting to Sunday’s game with Arsenal and he feels his side are heading into the clash with momentum, following a sticky start to the campaign.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Moyes said:

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Arsenal are coming to play the champions. They're in the top position at the moment, their form has been very good and they'll come here in good spirits. But we've had some growing momentum and we want to put on a good show.

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