During Tunisia’s World Cup match with Australia, Manchester United star Hannibal Mejbri almost picked a fight with rival striker Mitchell Duke as the latter lay down on the pitch after taking a knock on November 26. He appeared to throw the ball straight at the Australian from the substitutes’ bench.
At the time of the incident, Duke had gone down under a challenge by a Tunisia player after giving Australia the lead with a brilliant header, in the first half. Hannibal, 19, could be seen getting up from the Tunisia bench to retrieve the ball. Instead of throwing it at any of the other players on his team, the teen player chose to throw the ball at Duke, 31, who got struck in the face.
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Following his action, several Australian players ran toward Hannibal to confront the substitute. Seeing Hannibal being confronted, many of his Tunisia teammates also got involved to protect the youngster.
After referee Rafael Foltyn intervened in the incident, he was successful in moving the Australian players away from the scene. Hannibal then got a lengthy lecture from the referee before he was told to go back to the substitutes’ bench.
Both Hannibal and Duke appeared to shake off the incident later on in the game as both of them were seen shaking hands with each other and laughing in the replays. Hannibal could be seen smirking with his teammates when he returned to sit down.
Hannibal has not become famous for his temperament. In his tenure with Man Utd’s U21 side, he was sent off three times in just 40 appearances. He was also criticized by Ralf Rangnick, his former interim boss, for an explosive appearance against Liverpool at the end of last season.
