Bruno Fernandes: 'MU was unfairly treated'

Displeased by the inconsistent decisions of the referee and VAR that caused Manchester United to lose the victory, captain Bruno Fernandes publicly criticized this "confusing" officiating.

The dramatic 2-2 draw between Manchester United and Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium not only left regret regarding the points but also ignited fierce controversies about VAR technology. The focus of the outrage centered on two penalty incidents of similar nature that received completely opposite rulings from the referee team.

Manchester United traveled to the away ground aiming to solidify their position in the top 4. The Red Devils had a favorable start when Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring from the 12-meter spot in the 61st minute. However, the match's script began to become chaotic when Bournemouth equalized just 6 minutes later.

Notably, the equalizing 1-1 goal for the home team originated immediately after a controversial incident in Bournemouth's penalty area: Amad Diallo was pushed down by Adrien Truffert, but both the referee and VAR remained silent.

The match continued to escalate when a counter-attack goal by James Hill helped United take a 2-1 lead. Yet, tragedy struck in the 78th minute, Harry Maguire received a direct red card after fouling Evanilson. This time, the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot, allowing Bournemouth to equalize 2-2.

After the match, Bruno Fernandes could not hide his disappointment during the interview with Sky Sports. The Portuguese midfielder focused deeply on the inconsistency in VAR's application of the rules:

"One incident was called a penalty, the other wasn't. I know it's difficult for a referee to award two penalties to the same team in one match, but what I don't understand is why VAR didn't intervene in that situation".

Bruno emphasized the irrationality in the adjudication: “Either one of them is a penalty, or both are not penalties”. According to the Red Devils' captain, if Maguire's incident was called a foul, then Amad Diallo's collision earlier deserved the same outcome. Ignoring Bournemouth's foul directly led to United's first conceded goal, completely altering the match's dynamics.

Sharing the same view as his player, manager Michael Carrick also expressed astonishment at the match officiating. He considered these two incidents to be almost "identical" in nature: “To me they are almost identical, caught with both hands... catching one side but not the other, I can't understand it, I find that crazy”.

This draw caused Man Utd to miss a strong breakthrough opportunity in the Champions League race. Although they still maintain the 3rd position, VAR errors are becoming a major psychological barrier for Carrick's team before returning to Old Trafford to host Leeds United on April 13th.