Paul Pogba has been gagged by Manchester United as the club cracks down on their outspoken star amid fears over player unrest.

Captain Antonio Valencia also had clear-the-air talks with Jose Mourinho after liking a social media post calling for the United manager to be sacked.

On another turbulent day for United, Greater Manchester Police contradicted Mourinho’s claim they were to blame for the Champions League match against Valencia kicking off late because the team bus was not given an escort. The club have been charged by UEFA over the embarrassment.

Paul Pogba told reporters he was not allowed to speak to the media after the Valencia game

Pogba recently caused a stir after appearing to criticise manager Jose Mourinho's tactics

The French midfielder (left) is driven out of United's Carrington training base on Wednesday

POGBA'S SEASON Premier League appearances: 7 PL goals: 2, PL assists: 1 Pass success: 82.7 per cent Champions League appearances: 2 CL goals: 2, CL assists: 1 Pass success: 85.5 per cent Advertisement

Pogba declined to talk to reporters after the 0-0 draw, saying: ‘I’ve been told I’m not allowed.’ The media ban follows a series of comments from United’s £89million record signing who is one of a group of players at odds with Mourinho.

The Frenchman claimed in August that he couldn’t discuss his situation at the club without fear of being fined, and last month appeared to criticise tactics, urging the team to ‘attack, attack, attack’.

Pogba, who was subsequently stripped of the vice-captaincy, also angered Mourinho by posting a video on Instagram while watching United’s Carabao Cup exit to Derby last week. As a result, United players were warned about their social media activity, which made Valencia’s blunder all the more extraordinary.

The United skipper liked an Instagram post demanding that Mourinho be axed and describing the football being played under him as a ‘punishment’, shortly after telling reporters that he was 100 per cent behind the manager.

Valencia was forced to issue an apology, claiming he had endorsed the comment without even reading it. ‘These are not my views and I apologise for this,’ he said. ‘I am fully supportive of the manager and my team-mates.’

Valencia arrived at Carrington three hours early and spoke to a member of the club’s player care department to compose the apology before meeting Mourinho to say sorry in person.

Other players have come under fire from Mourinho, who castigated his squad in a 45-minute team meeting on Monday evening, having claimed hours earlier that some of them cared more than others about the current crisis.

Pogba played the full 90 minutes as United failed to beat Valencia in the Champions League

Frenchman wants to leave Old Trafford for Barcelona just two and a half years after returning

Staff at the Lowry Hotel could hear Mourinho’s raised voice throughout the briefing, which was only meant to last 20 minutes and left players feeling demoralised.

The second of two further team meetings at the Lowry on Tuesday took place a quarter-of-an-hour before United left for Old Trafford at 6pm. But traffic congestion meant the three-mile journey took 75 minutes instead of half an hour, forcing UEFA to put back the 8pm kick-off by five minutes.

UEFA have charged United over the late arrival and delayed kick-off, although the club are expected to face a fine at worst.

Mourinho blamed the problem on Greater Manchester Police refusing to give United an escort to the ground, but GMP said the club knew that would be the case for such low-risk games.

‘It was decided that we would no longer provide this service at every fixture,’ said chief inspector Andy Sutcliffe, GMP’s silver commander for Tuesday’s match. ‘We consulted with the clubs over a period of months to allow them adequate time to plan their journeys.’

United knew of the traffic issues having told fans to allow more time, but Mourinho — who doesn’t like to get to the ground too early — ignored the advice.