Bruno Fernandes red card explained as Manchester United get Premier League clarification

Bruno Fernandes was shown his first Manchester United red card against Tottenham on Sunday.

The 30-year-old was given his marching orders in the 42nd minute at Old Trafford for a late challenge on James Maddison. As Maddison tried to dribble the ball through midfield, Fernandes appeared to slip before lunging in on the Tottenham midfielder, catching him with studs on the side of his left knee.

The Spurs players were furious with the tackle and referee Chris Kavanagh handed Fernandes a straight red card. Explaining the decision on X, Premier League Match Centre 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."

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Speaking on co-commentary for Sky Sports, Neville said: "They're not happy at all about it. It's a red. We can't quite see it up here. But when players react like that, then you think something's gone on and that isn't obviously clever, but he's not happy Bruno Fernandes.

"I wouldn't go off that... He's gone knee-high Bruno Fernandes, but has he slipped maybe before? It's not as bad from the second angle. But he's not going to get away with it, even though I think he slips.

"The fact of the matter is he slips and reacts, and tries to trip him, but it looks bad because he's gone in just under knee-high. It's not going to be overturned and the referee's decision is going to stand.

"It's not as bad as I initially thought, but that sums up Manchester United in this first half and, to be fair, they have been an absolute disgrace. It's one of the worst performances I've seen in Erik ten Hag's time."