VAR expert explains whether Manchester United would be successful in Bruno Fernandes red card appeal

Manchester United will be debating whether to appeal the red card Bruno Fernandes received during the 3-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester United endured their third loss in six Premier League matches on Sunday afternoon, with pressure around Erik ten Hag’s position increasing.

Brennan Johnson opened the scoring early for Spurs, who maintained constant pressure on André Onana’s goal throughout the first half.

United’s struggles worsened just before halftime when Bruno Fernandes was sent off for what looked to be a reckless challenge on James Maddison, leading to a decline in their performance.

Tottenham extended their lead shortly after the break, and despite United’s attempts to respond, Spurs sealed the win with a third goal from Dominic Solanke with 15 minutes left.

Bruno’s red card and what games he will miss

Despite the challenge looking dangerous on the first look–partly due to Maddison’s reaction–it was quite clear when the incident was replayed that Fernandes’ challenge did not warrant a sending off.

As things stand, the United captain would miss the upcoming Premier League fixtures against Aston Villa, Brentford and West Ham.

“Fernandes slipped as he first looked to challenge Maddison, but this isn’t really valid in assessing the tackle,” assessed Dale Johnson, ESPN’s expert VAR analyst.

“The slip may have caused Fernandes to adjust the way he was making the challenge, but it wasn’t purely a slip into the Tottenham player — the boot was raised after the slip, a desperate lunging action, not a direct result of it.

“However, that doesn’t change the fact that this should have been a VAR review to downgrade red to yellow.

“For Kavanagh and especially his assistant, who was flagging furiously as Maddison went down, you can see why they went for a red card. Fernandes went in high at around shin height, had no prospect of playing the ball and at first looked like it was cynical with studs into the opponent.”

“Yet once different camera angles were shown, it became clear that Fernandes had not led with, or made any contact with his studs, and there was low force. It was a glancing blow with the outside of his boot.”

Would Man United be successful in Premier League appeal

Of course, many would argue that United could appeal the decision and potentially have Fernandes back in time for those next Premier League games.

Johnson believes that the club will make the decision to appeal, and that the most likely outcome is a positive one for United.

However, the VAR analyst does warn that these decisions do largely depend on which ex-players are placed on the disciplinary commission for the incident.

“United will surely appeal Fernandes’ suspension and have a high chance of success,” he added. “Though it really does depend which three ex-players you get on the disciplinary commission.”

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Thursday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.