There is a major security crisis at Man Utd as Aston Villa’s dressing room is bugged and Erik Ten Hag’s team conversations are being recorded

MANCHESTER United’s dressing room was bugged ahead of their game against Aston Villa in a shocking security breach.

A prankster claims he tricked Villa Park staff into sneaking in and planting a hidden device, two days before last Sunday’s 0-0 draw.

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It recorded under-fire coach Erik ten Hag’s team discussions for the crucial Premier League game.

A source said: “This is a shocking breach of security and some serious questions are being asked as to how this could have happened.” Luckily there was nothing serious about this incident.

“It was just a prankster who is actually a United fan being silly and wanting to hear what was being said within these four walls. But there will definitely be concerns about how they managed to get into the dressing room of one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs just days before a game.”

The Sun has heard the recordings but would not release details.

However, we can pass on Ten Hag’s instructions to the team and individual players can be heard clearly.

The Sun understands the prankster was using a phone from China that has a setting that allows a microphone to be activated when calling from another device.

He had taped the phone somewhere out of sight in the United dressing room and only rang the bell when he knew the manager would be there.

High alert

Sources claimed that the perpetrator responsible even had the courage to collect the device on Monday.

It’s a similar stunt to the one that saw a studio hit “Match of the Day” aired live with porn noises in 2023.

This was the work of Daniel “Jarvo” Jarvis.

However, it is believed he was not involved in the Villa recordings.

The latest stunt comes as Premier League bosses are already on high alert following a series of pranks targeting stadiums and teams.

In May, United were targeted by YouTuber Lizwani, who previously appeared on stage with the Oppenheimer cast at the Baftas.

He managed to sneak onto the Red Devils’ team bus after Crystal Palace’s 4-0 defeat at Selhurst Park.

Lizwani brazenly took a seat before being removed.

They do it to get a lot of hits on YouTube and make their fans laugh. They are not trying to cause trouble or harm anyone

A source

The breach led to Prem bosses firing off warning messages to the top flight’s 20 clubs, advising them to beware of similar stunts.

A source said: “These people are mostly harmless and do it for fun.”

“They do it to get a lot of hits on YouTube and make their fans laugh. They’re not trying to cause trouble or harm anyone.”

Manchester United have had their worst start to a Premier League season and are in 14th place with just eight points after seven games.

Ten Hag, 54, told the media after the Villa game he was “very happy” with the performance.

This came after a 3-3 draw at Porto in the Europa League – where they blew a 2-0 lead – and a 3-0 win against Spurs at Old Trafford.

Seven hour meeting

The Villa 0-0 was the Red Devils’ fifth game without a win – their last was a 7-0 win in the Carabao Cup over League One side Barnsley.

It is a far cry from the glory days of former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who described high-pressure moments as “squeaky-bum time”.

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The United hierarchy – including co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – held a seven-hour meeting at Old Trafford last week where Ten Hag’s future was uncertain.

They have remained silent about the manager’s position and Sir Jim has recently failed to publicly support him.

However, Ten Hag – who is currently on holiday during the international break – insists he still has the support of bosses.

He said: “I have no idea what would be different because they should have told me.

“We communicate – very openly, very transparently. I would say we talk every day, so I expect to talk to them.”

He dismissed the “external noise” and added: “Internally we are disappointed.”

“We know we have to do better. Above all, we have to score more points.”

In 2016, there was a bomb scare at Old Trafford after a dummy planted by a security company was found in a toilet.

The fiasco led to United’s Premier League game against Bournemouth being cancelled.

Man Utd and Aston Villa were contacted for comment yesterday.

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Porn stunt at Match Of The Day

By Amir Razavi

MATCH of the Day viewers were stunned to hear porn noises in another prank phone call during the show.

They came from a device attached to a wall by Daniel “Jarvo” Jarvis before the Wolves-Liverpool FA Cup match at Molineux in 2023.

To the amusement of presenter Gary Lineker, he activated the speaker from another device during the live broadcast.

Jarvo, who is also behind a number of other pranks at major sporting events, told The Sun at the time: “These things are all about confidence. If you hesitate, you will be asked questions. The Wolves people thought we were on TV and vice versa.”