'Absolute disgrace' - Adrian Durham hits out at 'detached' Sheffield Utd boss Wilder

The Blades picked up their first win of the Premier League season with a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United earlier in the week courtesy of a Billy Sharp penalty.

That strike sparked jubilant celebrations among United’s playing staff, despite recent calls for top flight players to uphold social distancing by avoiding close contact after a goal is scored.

Wilder defended his squad after Tuesday’s match, suggesting that the emotion of finding the back of the net can make it difficult for players to restrain themselves, but Durham has launched an impassioned attack on the 53-year-old’s comments.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “I’m actually quite upset hearing Chris Wilder say, ‘How do they expect footballers not to celebrate when scoring a goal is so emotional?’.

"Let me just say this to Chris Wilder: I haven’t hugged my daughter in over a year. Last summer she was in my garden and we had to stay two metres from each other. I saw her briefly over Christmas. It was distanced. I couldn’t get near her. I haven’t hugged her in over a year. This is a girl who is in hospitals, in PPE – she’s PPE’d up to the eyeballs everyday. She has to work with Covid patients. She works in the NHS.

"Chris Wilder – scoring a goal is emotional, I get that. Do you not think I’m emotional when my daughter is right there and I can’t hug her? Have you got no idea how difficult that is?

"I think it’s a disgrace, what he’s said. Wow.

"There are families up and down the country, dads and mums with their kids, not being able to hug them. Grandparents who aren’t very well, grandparents who have passed away sadly, tragically, and they haven’t had a hug to be going along with. They can’t restrain themselves from hugging each other because scoring a goal is emotional?

"This is how detached some football people are from the real world. It’s an absolute disgrace what Chris Wilder has said, an absolute disgrace.”

The outspoken host added: "I understand these players are tested regularly. I understand that at a corner you’re going to be next to each other, you’re going to be bumping bodies and all sorts. But football has to be seen to be doing the right thing. So often, up to this point, football hasn’t done the right thing.

"Football seems to be immune from any of the consequences of the actions of breaking these rules, and it’s about time that football people understood what they rest of the country is going through.

"The fact that you’ve got a Premier League manager saying that they’ve got to hug each other because scoring a goal is emotional – that proves to me, literally no idea what the rest of the country is going through. I find it extraordinary that he’s saying that.”