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Combustible manager likens on-field hair pulling to an act of "sex masochism"

Journalist who asked about possible ban relieved that he wasn't on the end of a practical demonstration

CNN  — 

Well, no one expected that.

When asked about a possible ban for his player, Marouane Fellaini, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal defended his lashing out with an elbow, saying that Leicester City defender Robert Huth deserved what he got.

Marouane Fellaini and his long locks seen at Wembley Stadium on April 23.

He accused Huth of pulling Fellaini’s – admittedly bounteous – locks, something he said was only acceptable “in sex masochism, then it is allowed.”

RELATED: Leicester City edges closer to title

“When I grab you hair now, you will react also,” he tells a reporter, motioning off-camera to demonstrate how his hair might be pulled.

“Because it’s not in the books, that somebody has to grab with the hair, and then pull it behind.”

The obviously relieved journalist is heard, off camera, thanking the often-outrageous Dutch manager for not pulling his own hair to demonstrate.

Both Fellaini and Huth could receive retrospective bans for the incident.

Wait continues

Meanwhile, it was his opposite number who was left pulling his own hair out.

On the night when his Leicester City team was within touching distance of its first-ever premier league title, and the culmination of the most improbable sporting fairy tale ever, Claudio Ranieri’s players could only muster a 1-1 draw with United.

The result leaves the team on the edge of victory, but reliant on results Monday night to push them over the line.

Second-place Spurs travel to London rivals Chelsea Monday night, knowing that only a win will keep its slim title hopes alive. But Ranieri will have to wait even longer than the final whistle to know if history for his team, 5000-1 outsiders at the beginning of the season, is made.

He’ll be on a plane from Rome while that match is ongoing, according to the Guardian, and will only learn of Leicester’s fate upon arrival back in England.

Previous press confrontations

It isn’t van Gaal’s first bizarre post-match press conference. In January he appeared to insult a journalist following a defeat to Newcastle United, apparently pointing out a journalist, saying ‘You, fat man!’ in response to a query about his striker, Wayne Rooney.

When Van Gaal was appointed in May 2014, he had just come from leading Holland to third place at the World Cup and was widely expected to restore the fortunes of one of the world’s biggest football clubs.

But poor form this season has seen his club currently in fifth place, outside the Champions League spots and a yawning 17 points behind leaders Leicester.