David de Gea posts meme of his former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho after teammate Casemiro’s red card – ‘I prefer not to speak’

Pretty much every football fan will have said the iconic Jose Mourinho meme 'if I speak I'm in big trouble' at some point.

But it turns out some of the sport's biggest stars use it too, as David de Gea showed on Twitter after his teammate Casemiro was sent off against Crystal Palace.

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Whether in real life, on Whatsapp groups chats or on social media, legendary football manager Mourinho's line from his post-match press conference in 2014 is said by fans around the world.

"I prefer really not to speak," Mourinho said after Chelsea's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa, "If I speak I'm in big trouble."

That line was of course in reference to the officials' decisions in that game, and now, De Gea has used the iconic phrase coined by his ex-Man United boss to sum up his view on the choice to give Casemiro a red card.

Taking to Twitter not long after the final whistle following Man United's 2-1 win over the Eagles at Old Trafford, De Gea simply posted the GIF of Mourinho, appearing to make a dig at the referee's decision.

With Man United 2-0 up, the man in the middle, Andre Marriner, gave Casemiro a straight red after a VAR review showed him putting his hands on Will Hughes' throat.

The interaction happened during a scuffle between the two groups of players following Jeffrey Schlupp's heavy challenge on Antony.

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And De Gea clearly though Schlupp had got off lightly after only receiving a yellow card for his tackle, whilst Casemiro got send for an early bath.

After the game, new angles of the incident show Casemiro and Hughes ended up hugging and defusing the situation moments after Casemiro had hold of his throat.

And United boss Erik ten Hag also disagreed with the decision, saying Jordan Ayew should have ‘definitely’ been sent off for his actions in the fight that followed and expressed his frustration with the inconsistency of VAR.

But despite being unhappy with the decision and going down to 10 men with 20 minutes to go, Man United managed to hold on to the win, despite Schlupp - the man who sparked the controversy - halving the deficit six minutes after Casemiro's red card.

Man United's victory has taken them eight points off Premier League leader's Arsenal in third.

The Gunners missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table, as they lost to Everton in Sean Dyche's first game in charge on Saturday.

Reigning champions Manchester City sit between the Red Devils and Arsenal in second, and a win over Tottenham on Sunday will take them just two points off the top.

You can listen to all the updates from Man City's visit to Spurs live on talkSPORT.