The family of Sir Matt Busby have declared their anger at the portrayal of the former Manchester United manager in BBC film ‘United’ which is set to be aired on Sunday.
The £2 million film, which depicts events immediately before and after the 1958 Munich air crash in which 23 people died including eight of the ‘Busby babes’, is claimed to be riddled with inaccuracies.
The family of assistant manager Jimmy Murphy aided in the making of the film, yet the film has been criticised by a number of former Manchester United players from the Busby era.
Speaking to The Daily Mirror, Sir Matt Busby’s son, Sandy said: “The film-makers have put my dad in an overcoat and a trilby hat. He looks more like a gangster than a football manager.
“In the film he never appears in a tracksuit, which is ridiculous, given he was the first ‘tracksuit’ manager of his generation.
“And the way he’s played, with head constantly to one side, is all wrong. My father was a proud man, proud of his fitness and of the way he carried himself.
“They’ve also got his character all wrong," Busby continued. "In one scene, my dad is talking to Alan Hardaker [former Football League secretary] and speaks to him in a manner and in a tone my father would never have used.”
Former United goalkeeper Harry Gregg, who pulled a number of team-mates including Sir Bobby Charlton and Busby himself from the Munich wreckage, is also disappointed at the portrayal of the Manchester United team as a whole in the film.
“The film portrays us as a pub team,” Gregg said. “To me that is a terrible insult to the great footballers of that generation, the likes of Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor.
“If that’s the way the United team of that time is portrayed, what does it say about other great players of that era, like Billy Wright, Dave MacKay or Danny and Jackie Blanchflower?
“The film gives a totally false picture of football at that time, which is what angered me the most. In the film, Mark Jones [United defender who died in Munich] is smoking a pipe in the tunnel before a game. I know there’s poetic licence, but that’s ridiculous.”
It is not the first time a football-themed biographical film has come under-fire, however. Following the release of The Damned United, in which Brian Clough's tenure at Leeds United is documented, it's portrayal of the former Derby County and Nottingham Forest legend was heavily criticised by Clough's family.
The £2 million film, which depicts events immediately before and after the 1958 Munich air crash in which 23 people died including eight of the ‘Busby babes’, is claimed to be riddled with inaccuracies.
The family of assistant manager Jimmy Murphy aided in the making of the film, yet the film has been criticised by a number of former Manchester United players from the Busby era.
Speaking to The Daily Mirror, Sir Matt Busby’s son, Sandy said: “The film-makers have put my dad in an overcoat and a trilby hat. He looks more like a gangster than a football manager.
“In the film he never appears in a tracksuit, which is ridiculous, given he was the first ‘tracksuit’ manager of his generation.
“And the way he’s played, with head constantly to one side, is all wrong. My father was a proud man, proud of his fitness and of the way he carried himself.
“They’ve also got his character all wrong," Busby continued. "In one scene, my dad is talking to Alan Hardaker [former Football League secretary] and speaks to him in a manner and in a tone my father would never have used.”
Former United goalkeeper Harry Gregg, who pulled a number of team-mates including Sir Bobby Charlton and Busby himself from the Munich wreckage, is also disappointed at the portrayal of the Manchester United team as a whole in the film.
“The film portrays us as a pub team,” Gregg said. “To me that is a terrible insult to the great footballers of that generation, the likes of Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor.
“If that’s the way the United team of that time is portrayed, what does it say about other great players of that era, like Billy Wright, Dave MacKay or Danny and Jackie Blanchflower?
“The film gives a totally false picture of football at that time, which is what angered me the most. In the film, Mark Jones [United defender who died in Munich] is smoking a pipe in the tunnel before a game. I know there’s poetic licence, but that’s ridiculous.”
It is not the first time a football-themed biographical film has come under-fire, however. Following the release of The Damned United, in which Brian Clough's tenure at Leeds United is documented, it's portrayal of the former Derby County and Nottingham Forest legend was heavily criticised by Clough's family.