Ten Hag talks, disciplinary issue - Man Utd's Bruno Fernandes punishment decided after red cards

Bruno Fernandes lasted 241 Manchester United matches without a red card but has since been dismissed in each of his last two outings.

The first came straight from the referee’s top pocket in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham when he was given his marching orders for a high challenge on James Maddison. The sending-off was rescinded upon appeal, though, meaning he will not miss Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa.

However, he will now miss the match in Turkey for United’s Europa League clash with Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce after the international break. That is because he was shown a second yellow card for a high boot in the second half of Thursday’s 3-3 draw with Porto.

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United typically suffer without Fernandes in the side, with the captain often the team’s creative spark in the final third. In light of this and his recent dismissals, should Fernandes be told to rein in his challenges and become more street-wise? Do his latest indiscretions require punishment?

Or are his consecutive dismissals simply luckless? MEN writers offer their thoughts.

Isaac Johnson

I think Fernandes has a right to be frustrated at both dismissals, having fallen foul to 'the letter of the law' amid absence of common sense. Sunday’s red card was particularly unfortunate.

Fernandes simply slipped and his leg trajectory and distance from Maddison meant his boot naturally connected with his knee area when trying to stop the attack - but there was no malice or force behind it. Even Maddison himself seemed surprised by the severity of the straight red.

The dismissal in Porto I can understand more. While the theatrics of the untouched Nehuen Perez cannot be excused, the act was forceful and did put the defender in danger. Fernandes will argue no contact was made and that he had every right to go for the ball but those types of challenges are always punished in Europe.

It seems unnecessary to sanction a sit-down chat with Fernandes despite consecutive red cards, which are coincidences in timing rather than anything more untoward. His unblemished record before the past week speaks for itself.

Kieran Horn

Bruno Fernandes always plays on the edge and is certainly not afraid of getting stuck in, but that has been his biggest problem in the last two games. His disciplinary record prior to sendings off against Tottenham and Porto shows he's not that kind of player.

However, as captain, he holds certain responsibilities and consecutive red cards don't exactly set the best example. Ten Hag does not really need to pull him aside for a conversation though as he is old enough and experienced enough to know better.

It may be worth Fernandes just being careful over the next few weeks because the last thing he wants is a reputation for being that kind of player. His teammates, supporters and Ten Hag will know that is not the case, but referees may be keeping a careful eye on his conduct.

Amie Wilson

After going so long without being sent off in his Manchester United career, the timing of the two consecutive red cards come at probably one of the worst times with the pressure on the club to turn the form around. Fernandes has often been a spark of recovery for the team in the past, but the midfielder has struggled for form so far this season.

The red card against Tottenham has now been rescinded by the FA, and that was the correct decision. Fernandes was unlucky that a slip just before making the challenge made it look a lot worse than it actually was.

It is more difficult to argue against the second yellow against Porto, which was probably the right decision. At the time, United were looking for an equaliser, and while players need to show a bit of fight, stepping over the line is only going to hinder the team.

The challenge probably came from frustration as to how the game was going, as well as trying to take matters into his own hands to turn the game back in United’s favour. I think the suspension is enough punishment, it may be a situation where the player needs an arm around his shoulder rather than a stern talking-to to make sure it’s a rare occurrence as it has been in the past.

Jack Flintham

On paper, it would be easy to suggest that Fernandes is becoming a liability after two red cards in as many games. In actuality, the debate is a lot more nuanced than that.

His sending-off against Tottenham was rightly rescinded and it is shocking that VAR did not step in and overturn it on the day. Those sorts of decisions are why VAR was introduced to the game but the technology was not implemented properly last weekend.

As for Thursday night's dismissal, while it was a harsh second yellow, Fernandes will perhaps admit he shouldn't have given the referee a decision to make going in so forcefully and high when on a caution. What makes the Portuguese one of United's star men is that he often plays on the edge with his heart on his sleeve.

Now of course that can result in incidents like this where he is sent off but to attempt to rein him in would be to negate one of the squad's very few threats at the moment. Simply put, this is merely an unfortunate week for the United skipper and I am sure he will learn from it.

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