Dermot Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, supports Tony Harrington’s choice to issue Bruno Fernandes two yellow cards leading to a red card in Manchester United’s loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day. This marks Fernandes’ third dismissal of the season, his first coming in a match against Tottenham Hotspur in September. Despite the sending off, Fernandes will only miss one match due to the rules surrounding accumulated yellow cards.
Gallagher, who officiated in the Premier League from 1992 to 2007, discussed the incident on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch program, agreeing that Fernandes deserved the yellow cards for his ill-timed challenges on Matheus Cunha and Nelson Semedo.
Gallagher remarked, “He doesn’t get the ball and it’s his third sending off of the season. It wasn’t a wise tackle and it resulted in a second yellow card. Fernandes could have avoided making these challenges, especially considering the positioning on the field.”
Despite the frustration of getting a red card, United coach Ruben Amorim mentioned that Fernandes’ intention was not to stop the player but to play the ball. Amorim acknowledged that sometimes these situations happen in the game and Fernandes was unfortunate on this occasion.
