Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has admitted that he let his teammates down in their 3-0 loss vs. Tottenham Hotspur but insisted his red card was not warranted.
Fernandes was sent off just before the break, for a foul on Spurs playmaker James Maddison.
The United no.8 slipped as he tried to tackle Maddison and in his eagerness to still make a challenge, clumsily caught the Spurs man high on the leg.
Referee Chris Kavanagh immediately brandished a red card as he gave Fernandes his marching orders.
Kavanagh’s decision has elicited a lot of debate, with many suggesting that it was a harsh one, considering he slipped, and a yellow card would have sufficed.
Fernandes had previously gone 241 matches without picking up a red card in his United career.
After the final whistle, he volunteered to speak to Sky Sports and slammed the decision to send him off. He remarked [via Manchester Evening News), “I let my teammates down.”
“I do appreciate everything they did on the pitch and obviously it was tough for them. We didn’t start the game well with 11 vs 11.”
“Then we got the situation with the red card and I think they did very well. We conceded another two goals and it was difficult to cover all the spaces, but I think there are many good things we can take away from this.”
“The resilience of the team was there and I’m proud of the team.”
The Portugal international added, “Obviously nobody likes to be sent off and it’s not a good feeling seeing my teammates running a lot and trying a lot to get a result because that’s what they were trying to do.”
“We ended up conceding another two goals but they tried everything. Part of slipping and going in, I didn’t go into the tackle with studs and I take him with my ankle. It’s a clear foul but never a red card and that’s my feeling. He [Maddison] said it was a foul but never a red card. I think on the eyes of everyone you can see it’s never a red card.”
“If this is a red card, we have to look at many other incidents and I see many incidents of Onana getting kicked and I never see it so quickly coming as a red card. It’s never a red card. The contact is not that strong and if he wants to give a yellow because it’s a counter-attack, I agree, and then I don’t understand why VAR doesn’t call the referee to the screen.”
Fernandes concluded, “We found a lot of spaces but couldn’t connect [before the sending off] and I think it wasn’t always like one touch more, not quick passes, not quick link up and we give the ball away too many times. The goal comes from one bad pass from me and then they score the goal.”
The Red Devils skipper will now miss the club’s next three top-flight matches vs. Aston Villa, Brentford and West Ham.
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