Wigan boss surprisingly disagrees with FA Cup pundit on Man Utd criticism

Wigan boss Shaun Maloney and former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy have failed to agree on the controversial moment that saw Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes awarded a penalty.

After the conclusion of Manchester United’s away victory in the third round of the FA Cup against Wigan, one particular incident stood out.

With Erik ten Hag’s side leading 1-0, the Red Devils were awarded a penalty after their captain Bruno Fernandes went down in the box in the 74th minute.

Fernandes would then take and score the penalty, doubling United’s lead, whilst securing the team’s victory.

Murphy, who played 417 times in the Premier League for a host of clubs, stated that the decision to award Fernandes with the goalscoring penalty was an ‘awful’ one.

“By giving those penalties, we are encouraging players to dive with any, contact. There was not enough contact to send him over. It is an exaggerated fall, it is an awful decision,” he told reporters.

Despite Murphy being adamant that there was not enough contact for Bruno Fernandes to receive a penalty against Wigan, that was surprisingly not the opinion of the League One team’s manager Shaun Maloney.

After the game, Maloney admitted that having reviewed the tackle that brought Bruno Fernandes to the ground after the game, there was enough contact for the referee to award United with a penalty

Speaking to the post-match media, Maloney stated: “I saw it again. There was contact. I understand why the referee awarded it.”

The somewhat controversial penalty marks just the fifth Erik ten Hag’s side has received so far this season.