Bruno Fernandes: It was 'never a red card' in Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur and even James Maddison agreed
Updated 29/09/2024 at 21:22 GMT+1
Manchester United slumped to a 3-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League after captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off late in the first half. Fernandes felt the dismissal was "never a red card" and was "not a good decision". United manager Erik ten Hag also said he thought it was the wrong call, while Fernandes acknowledged it was "tough" for his team-mates when down to 10 men.
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes said his dismissal against Tottenham Hotspur was “never a red card” – and was even told so by Spurs midfielder James Maddison.
Fernandes was shown a straight red card shortly before half-time for a high tackle on Maddison. It appeared that Fernandes was slipping and then stuck out a boot and caught Maddison.
United were 1-0 down at the time of the dismissal and went on to lose 3-0.
Asked about the red card afterwards, Fernandes told Sky Sports: “It's a clear foul but never a red card.
"Even Maddison when he gets up, he said it was a foul but never a red card. You can see it's never a red card and if it is, we have to look at many other incidents.
"I have many incidents when I get kicked and I've never seen it come so quick as a red card.
"The contact is not that strong. If he wants to give me a yellow because it's a counter-attack, I agree, and I don't understand why VAR doesn't call the referee to the screen. For me, it's not a good decision."
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The Premier League issued a statement to say "the VAR checked and confirmed the referee’s call of serious foul play".
Fernandes added: "I left my team-mates down with one man down. I do appreciate everything they did on the pitch, it was tough for them.
"We didn't start the game well. When it's 11 vs 11, the result is on their side, then we get the situation with the red card.
"They did very well, they tried. We conceded another two goals, but it was difficult to cover all the spaces.
"It's many good things we can take from this. The resilience of the team was there and I'm proud of them."
The defeat increases the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag, with United 12th in the Premier League table after two wins from six matches.
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Ten Hag said he thought the red card had a “big impact” on the game.
"We could have come back in the game, we had chances with [Alejandro] Garnacho and [Joshua] Zirkzee. But the red card changed the game," Ten Hag told Sky Sports.
"I don’t think it’s a red card. We had big chances [before it] and it’s only 1-0 so we could make a comeback. It had a big impact on the game."
United next face back-to-back away games against FC Porto in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, and Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.
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