Manchester United reportedly tried to use footage from Sky Sports’ ‘Ref Watch’ programme to successfully appeal Bruno Fernandes’ red card.
Fernandes faced a straight red for serious foul play in United’s 3-0 loss to Tottenham after a foul on James Maddison. The decision was contested, and an independent commission reversed the red card, sparing Fernandes a three-match suspension.
The club presented a segment from ‘Ref Watch’ as part of their evidence, where former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, alongside ex-pros Sue Smith and Dean Ashton, analysed the incident, arguing that the red card was ‘unfair’.
Gallagher commented on the challenge: “I don’t think the referee can see it. He can’t see the challenge happen. It’s a glancing blow down the leg. He has an optical illusion; a more palatable decision would have been a yellow card.”
Smith concurred: “It’s never a red card. He slips and touches him with his heel. There’s no force in it and it’s not endangering the opponent. It’s definitely not a red card. Yellow card at most.”
Despite the pundits’ opinions, a report from the Daily Mail suggests they were not taken into account by the commission. The panel concluded there was an “obvious error” by referee Chris Kavanagh in their written statement.
“The majority view was that there was obviously no malice, brutality or excessive force,” they commented. Fernandes openly criticised the call after the match, insisting even Maddison admitted to him it was “never a red card”.
Fernandes contested: “I don’t take him as everyone wants to see it, going with the studs. I take him with my ankle. It’s a clear foul, but never a red card, that’s my feeling. Even Maddison when he gets up…he just said like: ‘It is a foul but never a red card’.”
He further argued: “In the eyes of everyone, you can see this is never a red card. Because if this is a red card, we have to look at many other incidents. I’ve had many incidents when I get kicked and I’ve never seen something so quick coming up as a red card. I just think it’s never a red card.
“It’s a foul. Even the contact is not that strong. If [the referee] wants to give me a yellow because it’s a counter-attack, I agree. And then I don’t understand why the VAR didn’t call the referee to the screen. For me, it’s just not a really good decision.”