Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Bruno Fernandes should not have been shown a red during Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat by Tottenham.
The midfielder was sent off just before half-time after he caught Spurs star James Maddison on the shin following a frustrating first 45 minutes.
The incident, which happened while the away side were leading 1-0, all but settled the result on Sunday afternoon with Ange Postecoglou’s outfit later adding two second-half goals.
After the match, Fernandes and his under-pressure manager Erik Ten Hag both slammed the decision with the Portuguese saying that the tackle was ‘a clear foul but never a red card’.
And Gallagher agrees with them as he claim that referee Chris Kavanagh poor view and and his assistant’s potential ‘optical illusion’ lead to the red, though ‘palatable decision’ should have been a booking.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: ‘[There is] a lot of debate. That’s the referee’s view – I don’t think the referee can see it, that’s the first point. I don’t think the referee sees the challenge happen, and if you look at the screen, you will see the assistant flag it.
‘The assistant has a different view and a different angle, and if you run it on, this is the assistant. That is not his [Kavanagh’s] angle.
‘This is the assistant’s angle. If you stop there, you could understand why the assistant would relay to the referee that Fernandes is high; he’s off the ground and he would have the impression that he’s caught him knee-high. But when you run it through, you only see that it’s a glancing blow down the leg. He doesn’t catch him like he thinks.
‘I can understand the referee not seeing it, he has to go on the assistant’s view and that is that he’s high, and he’s caught him like that – but he hasn’t. I think he has an optical illusion. When you see it, a more palatable decision would be a yellow card.’
Meanwhile, the Premier League confirmed the reasoning behind the huge call, which condemns the United man to a spell on the sidelines.
It said: ‘The referee issued a red card to Fernandes for a challenge on Maddison. The VAR checked and confirmed the referee’s call of serious foul play.’
Finishes from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke built on Brennan Johnson’s third-minute opener and gave Tottenham their fourth consecutive win in all competitions.
In the aftermath of what proved to be the key incident of the encounter, Fernandes could be seen chatting with Maddison on the pitch. Following the match, the United man revealed what was discussed.
He said: ‘I just wanted to come and talk and be myself because my team-mates deserve that for what they have done in the game playing with one man less – particularly as I was the man sent off, the one that let them down.
‘I think we struggled a bit and then the red card makes it worse. I have to appreciate all the effort my team-mates have done to try and return to the game, but it wasn’t possible. The team showed a lot of character, a lot of resilience, a lot of fight. They tried. It wasn’t easy.
‘No one likes to be sent off. It’s not a good feeling. We end up conceding another two goals.
‘I don’t go in with the studs, it’s a clear foul but never a red card. Maddison said it is a foul but it’s not a red card. If this is a red card we have to look at other incidents. I think it’s never a red card. It’s a foul if he wants to give a yellow. I don’t understand why VAR doesn’t call the referee to the screen.’
Ten Hag added: ‘The red card changes the game. I don’t think it was a red card.’