Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini: "I am not a dirty player"

Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini has insisted that he is not a "dirty player" after he was accused of elbowing during his side's Europa League last-16 tie against Liverpool.

The Belgian escaped a ban for appearing to elbow Emre Can in the face during the first leg at Anfield, which ended in a 2-0 victory for Liverpool.

In the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, Fellaini went unpunished for a similar offence on Dejan Lovren.

After the game, former Premier League referee Howard Webb described Fellaini as a "thug", but the midfielder has rejected those claims by insisting that he is "physical" not "dirty".

"I don't want to elbow someone, I just defend myself," Fellaini told Football Focus. "Okay, I am physical, I like to win my challenge but I am not a dirty player.

"I like to win my challenge when I play a game. In England there are a lot of physical challenges so if you want to win the game you have to be aggressive and win your challenge.

"I never want to injure a player or to be bad, I am not like that, I just defend myself."

Fellaini joined United from Everton in 2013 for a reported £27.5m fee.