As he threatened to receive his FOURTH red card of the season, Bruno Fernandes threw his boot to the ground twice out of rage.
Despite being reduced to ten men after Diogo Dalot’s red card, the 30-year-old captain of Manchester United started in midfield for his team in their FA Cup match against Arsenal, which they won on penalties.
On the outskirts of the Arsenal area, with 37 minutes remaining, Fernandes was challenged by Gabriel Jesus and went down.
The Portuguese playmaker seems to have had his ankles pinched by the Gunners attacker.
Referee Andy Madley, however, disregarded his cries for a free kick and let play go on.
However, Fernandes was furious since the decision did not suit him.
He sat down on the field, removed the red boot that had come loose from his left foot, and threw it violently at Madley, who continued to observe the activity.
Fernandes then carried on his irascible tirade with the referee during a pause in play.
He once more chose to kick the boot to the ground directly in front of Madley, though, as it seemed like his grievances were going unanswered.
The referee, however, was not having any of it and promptly gave him a yellow card for his blatant disapproval.
Fernandes, however, might have received two bookings in short succession for his original outburst, which was clearly harsher.
As soon as Fernandes’ moments of rage reached a boiling point, gamegoers reacted on social media.
One said: “Fernandes is a whiny p****, which is why he shouldn’t be captain! However, I’m not sure how the referee missed the foul in the first place.
Someone else wrote: “Ok it’s definitely a foul on Bruno Fernandes but he took his OWN boot off and threw it TWICE – ref could’ve double yellowed him.”
Another person said, “Worst captain in the league.”
A fourth person made the following comment: “A captain’s level of petulance is inappropriate. kicking the ground to express your annoyance at the referee. Why? Does this too frequently?
The last person to type was, “Horrible piece of work he is.”
Fernandes had to tread carefully for the rest of the FA Cup match after receiving the yellow card in order to avoid receiving his fourth red card of the year.
Within four days, Fernandes was sent off against Tottenham and Porto.
On Boxing Day, he was given two yellow cards and had to take an early bath against Wolves.
Fernandes made history by being the first United player to be sent off three times in a single season in sixteen years.
Nemanja Vidic received three red cards in 2008–09, including both away and home games against Premier League rivals Liverpool.
It’s ironic because Fernandes put his team ahead with a brilliant finish on minute fifty-two.
However, Fernandes’ countryman Diogo Dalot, who was already on a yellow card, slid into a tackle less than ten minutes later, reducing United to ten men.
After catching Mikel Merino, the full-back received a second warning and was taken for an early bath.
And two minutes later, Gabriel’s deflected goal gave Arsenal the equalizer.